Battlefield 3 (PC)
 

Not long ago, DICE announced that Battlefield 3 will be released in the fall of 2011. After hearing the news, and changing my underwear, I proceeded to pre-order my copy from the EA store. Now I wait.

Anyone else planning on getting it for PC?
It's being developed for PC, and ported to the 360 and PS3, which makes me (a PC gamer) happier than if it was the other way around. Plus, it's also confirmed that PC will support 64 player maps. That's more good news to me, especially due to the fact that they're bringing back playable jets like we had in BF2.

Their new Frostbite 2 engine is supposed to be the tits, and although little is actually known about it, they're slowly releasing more info. I believe they're doing a few GDC conferences on the game engine either today or tomorrow, and vids should trickle down to us soon after. But even without the particulars, you can see for yourself in the premier gameplay teaser (and when I say teaser, I'm not lying) that there's a nice leap forward from Battlefield:Bad Company2 in regard to animation, lighting, physics, scale, etc.

The big question is whether they're going to be more true as a sequel to BF2 or BC2. Fans of BF2 are going to lean that way while those who started the franchise with BC1 and/or BC2 won't really have much of a reference. Although DICE has recently mentioned that their will be elements from both schools that should satisfy fans of both, the issue will be which elements are brought back and which are eliminated. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until DICE decides to give more information.

Anyway, regardless of how it turns out, I'm still pretty stoked about getting my hands on this game. I only hope we'll get beta access, because I'm definitely not buying Medal of Honor LE just for the BF3 beta, as DICE has advertised. (because MoH is such crap that the only way they can sell it is to promise access to the BF3 beta when it drops, with an MoH purchase.)




The gameplay teaser:


BF3 blog:
blogs.battlefield.ea.com/

I will probably get it. I've always been more of a Counter-Strike and Call of Duty player, but since COD has really gone down the shitter in the last couple years, I've been itching for a new multiplayer FPS.

Won't be getting this until I've spent a great deal of time with Bad Company 2, and I don't even have that game yet.

I'm getting it, but sadly, not for PC.

Yea I've never been too big on COD. The style of gameplay gets old when the only incentive is to run around and kill as many people as possible just to improve a K/D ratio. The thing I love about the Battlefield franchise is the emphasis (and reward system) on team play and strategy. I definitely want to get a good squad together at some point and play multiplayer with Voip. And there's rumors that BF3 won't just have 4 folks to a squad like in the BC series, so I'm stoked about that.

I play BC2 online. It's fun but I wouldn't use it as a training ground for BF3, as there are likely to be some big differences (unless you're training for online FPS in general). If you're familiar with BF2, you should be fine. Besides, it would probably be better to train on BF3 when it's new, so you have enough fellow noobs that won't make things terribly difficult to adjust to and most folks are on a level playing field (except for the beta testers). There are likely going to be a lot of different weapons and they'll be balanced differently than in BC2, as BF3 is supposedly a sequel to BF2, not BC2, so realistically, you're probably better off getting BF3 when it drops. If you can play BC2 in the mean-time, that's great. You've got probably around 8 months to get into it, and it doesn't take but maybe a week of daily play to get used to things and rank up fairly high and get some sweet unlocks.

If you end up getting BC2 for PC, let me know and we can go mess around. There are always plenty of low count unranked servers where you're pretty free to just run around and test things out without any negative effects.

Good looking teaser. I really hope that 64 people isn't too chaotic, i kinda liked the pacing as it is. I'd also like to see the controls polished a little more.

It looks like they're putting a lotta effort into a single player campaign, if that city map is in multiplayer ima jizz over everything

Well the 64 player maps in BF2 are simply really large. They accommodate 64 players with room to spare. 32 player maps are the same original size but the boundaries are closer and there's only 32 players, and 16 player maps are the closest, and even with 16 players it's far more chaotic than a 64 player map. The players-to-space ratio remains relatively constant, but most folks like the 64 player maps more because you actually have room to maneuver your aircraft in (which will be a necessity now that they're bringing the jets back), and you also have more time to set up your defenses and get into good positions and actually work out a strategy.

As far as the maps, they've already confirmed that they'll have maps themed as New York City, Tehran, and Paris... and it only makes sense that these maps will be available in multiplayer as well. But only time will tell as more info is released. Either way, myself and a lot of other people are crossing our fingers that this will be more true to BF2, in which case the multiplayer will the primary focus. The Battlefield series has always relied on that and it's part of their history as game developers. The Bad Company series is a separate thing from BF2. If DICE is true to the Battlefield series and this is truly a continuation of BF2 (with all the cool sh*t they learned while developing BC 1&2) then we'll all be satisfied I'm sure.

I've played a lot of Bad Company 1 on PS3, and I like it a lot, one of the better online FPS's I've played. My brothers have BC2 on PC, so I COULD play that but I'm garbage at PC shooters, I much prefer PS3.

Console kiddie :p:

I'm not a TOTAL console kiddie. I do use PC to play Left 4 Dead (which I'm not too bad at because you're killing AI, not hardcore PC nerds) and strategy games like Starcraft II, Civilization, and Age Of Empires.

I'm the same way, I use my Xbox to play Halo. And probably Gears 3 when it comes out.

I'm saving up to buy a gaming laptop so I plan to do a lot more PC gaming in the future.

Nooo, don't get a gaming laptop. They're very expensive and have a very short life. Not worth it.

Short life? What do you mean?

Well, with a desktop (especially a self-built one) it's very easy to upgrade and replace outdated parts. You can stretch a desktop's life by a couple years doing this. With a laptop, as soon as your machine becomes outdated you're forced into buying a new one.

Well, there are many things that you can still upgrade such as RAM, but I do see what you're saying... I'm saving for an Alienware M11x, but I'm not getting the base model, I'm getting the top of the line one with the i7 processor, which is apparently super fast... as long as I can run the games I most often play, which I have already listed, and perform all of my non-gaming tasks with ease (which my current desktop is terrible at), I'll be satisfied.

Ah, well, it's my opinion that you really should get a desktop if space allows. I was a laptop person for a long time until I realized I don't actually use my laptop for laptop purposes, such as long trips or taking notes in class. So I built my own desktop this winter and made a top-of-the-line rig for $1,600 USD, including Mouse/Keyboard/Monitor.

The reason I want the M11x is largely because of portability, the thing is practically a netbook. I hate having all these wires and stuff plugged into my computer too, I just want something small, simple, and powerful.

I figured you guys would enjoy these two videos as much as I did.

War Tapes - The Sounds of Battlefield 3

First Battlefield 3 Gameplay Trailer (a.k.a. Not That Teaser Trailer above)

I am completely in awe.

I still would advise you to buy a simple laptop and a bit more expensive PC for gaming. It'll set you back just as much as one gaming laptop, the gaming experience will be better and these gaming laptops are always on the edge. They get hot, there's a lot of stuff in them that can go bust, you can't really upgrade them. It's pretty much a waste of money.
A friend of mine repairs laptops for a living (temporarily, fortunately) and the gaming laptops are really awful. They are impossible to take apart and lots of them have problems with overheating.
A gaming laptop is just impossible.
There's a reason every good videocard is properly cooled and needs a big power supply. You won't get that in a laptop. It just won't fit.

Do yourself a favour, buy a nice fast PC and a cheep 'n cheerful laptop and you'll be ready to rock.

I was just coming in here to post the new gameplay episode. :D
So it looks like part of the campaign gameplay. We can assume that the multiplayer gameplay will look the same seeing as it uses the same game engine, but I'm wondering what the multiplayer character animations will look like, as those will be different when being controlled by other players online as opposed to predetermined animations for the bots in campaign mode.

I really hope they demo the multiplayer portion eventually, even though it's probably still in development. DICE better come correct with multiplayer! NEED MOAR INFO!

winwinwinwinwiwninwin

surprisingly good voice acting and dialogue. None of that "hoo-rah lets go kill some sand ****ers"

Pretty hardcore engine too.

More gameplay!

Sh!t, that is one good looking game. I might skip out on BC2 and whatever the next COD is and get this and Homefront.

BF3 Fault line episode 2 has been released.
Looky!

Updates:
Still no word on the beta release date. But here's the 12 minute trailer that includes all the previously released gameplay, and more:



They really need to show more jet gameplay. 1.5 seconds of it is not enough.

I don't know if anyone is still keeping up with the BF3 progress, so I'll post a list of confirmations from DICE.


Release: October 25th, 2011

Beta: September 2011
(The Origin website says there will be an open beta for anyone who is interested, but there's still a lot of confusion about whether MoH:LE purchasers get an earlier closed beta)

64 multiplayer on PC, 24 on console.
(Because of the bandwidth limitations on console networks, and general hardware limitations on consoles)

Co-op campaign

Prone, and bipods, which can be mounted on any flat surface, in any stance (for instance, in a window).

Pre-orders get Back To Karkand expansion pack for free.

More bullet drop than BC2

Classes:
Assault (has assault rifles and the medic kit for reviving)
Support (has LMGs and ammo crates)
Engineer (SMGs, rockets, repair)
Recon (sniper stuff, NO MORE MOTION SENSORS)

Character customization, and dogtag customization

Selective fire (single, burst, auto)

Equip grenades

Equip knife, also has a quick knife key, dogtags can only be taken with equipped knife stabbing opponent in the back, for a stealth kill.

Game modes: Single player story, co-op story, multiplayer Rush, Conquest and Team Deathmatch

Squad leader (one per squad, determined by whoever makes the squad, and squad members can only spawn on a squad leader, but squad leaders can spawn on any team member)

Sniper scope sway, and a "hold breath" key to temporarily resolve it

Suppression effects (if you're laying down fire toward an enemy's location, his screen gets blurry and his aim is off. Vice versa)

Plus a lot more...


If anyone missed these vids from E3, check 'em out:

Singleplayer demo "Thunder Run"


Extremely sexy Frostbite 2.0


Multiplayer teaser


Really bad quality multiplayer run from E3, but it's like 10 minutes of it

ATTENTION: PC Battlefield Players

If you're planning on picking up BF3 for PC, you might wanna go ahead and pre-order the digital download on Origin, this month.

Not only do you get early access to the open beta in september, physical warfare pack, play 4 free items, and the obligatory Back to Karkand expansion pack for free... but you'll also get your pick of one of the following games for digital download, FREE:

Dead Space 2
Mass Effect 2
Medal of Honor

So um, if you were gonna get BF3 on PC anyway, you may as well do the digital download on Origin. Also, you get to pre-load it, meaning, you get to download it and install it prior to the launch date on Oct. 25th. So right when the game launches, you'll already have it installed and will can start playing immediately, as the servers will have opened up. (this will probably appeal to the more competitive BF players)

But the free game addition... worth it.

Anyway, if you do this, you should get an e-mail from EA with a redeem code to put into the EA store. Redeem it, load up Origin, and start downloading your free game.



Just letting those of you who may be interested know.

is there gonna be a beta on consoles?

Yea, the open beta in September is going to be for all platforms.

**** yeah

Yup. Just keep an eye on your email in September, as there will probably be an announcement. Won't be a code or anything for the open beta. When it drops, it should be available in your console's network or whatever.

I don't know much about all that, as I use PC.

Anyway, I'll post here when the open beta drops.

you sure this isn't just for pre-order people?

Open beta is open for everyone. That's the definition of open beta. Also confirmed by the community manager of DICE.

The "early access", which is incidentally 48 hours prior to the open beta, is for those who pre-order for PC download on Origin (previously EA store), and those who bought Medal of Honor limited edition.

Needless to say, anyone who wants in the open beta (not the early access) simply needs to download the client file when it becomes available in September.

Exact dates for the open beta will be released down the road.




Reference:
http://blogs.battlefield.ea.com/Defa...px?PageIndex=3

Scroll down to the open beta participation part.

New BF3 gameplay vid from GamesCom:

(conquest)


(Co-op, PS3)


/drool

Played the early access beta today. Fun.
Open beta starts on the 29th for all platforms. Even if you're not planning on buying the game, you can still check it out.

Couldn't get into BF2, Fear2 is Ok and Crysis2 was over too quickly.

my beta experience so far

Number of times killed in a firefight: 0

Number of times killed by person camping prone in a bush: 9,000+

lol... haven't you even made it past the first two Mcoms?

No! lol