battlefield-3
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Battlefield 3 to have dedicated servers, leading on PC
Game Informer's cover story on Battlefield 3 reveals DICE's plans to support dedicated servers, and delves into some of the particulars of its multiplayer offering. Once again, you'll be able to select between four classes -- executive producer Patrick Bach calls this number "the sweet spot" -- and Bad Company 2's four-person squad mechanic will be expanded, though no specifics are given. "Squads are really easy to set up, but how can you take that further? We have some really cool things that we'll show later when it comes to dictating how you play with friends," Bach teases. Furthermore, due to BF3 using a new version of DICE's game engine, Frostbite 2.0, mod tools won't necessarily reflect earlier Battlefield mod functionality. "We will not deliver mod tools in the way that we delivered them for Battlefield 2," Bach says. "Creating mod tools today -- dumbing them down -- takes a lot of energy and what we are discussing more every day is, 'Where do we put our focus?' Right now our focus is to create the best possible multiplayer, single-player, and co-op game -- the core game of Battlefield 3. We're still discussing how we handle modifications of any kind," he adds. And though the third Battlefield title will arrive on launch day in Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 flavors, the game's primary development platform is the PC. "We won't make it for console and port it to PC -- that's not how we do things," Bach says. "We're focusing on PC first, and then we fiddle with it to fit it onto consoles." Frankly, we wanna fiddle with it wherever it is.
Battlefield 3 stops by 'Paris, Tehran and New York,' down to 24 players on console
While the Battlefield 3 pre-order text appearing on GameStop is almost identical to the text that briefly appeared on EA's own pre-order site, BF3Blog.com snagged the full copy from EA before it was stripped. While the GameStop text simply says that battles will be fought in "diverse locations from around the globe including Europe, Middle-East and North America," the original EA text was a bit more specific: "Paris, Tehran and New York." What that tells us is that Battlefield 3 will have some seriously urban environments, which is a good thing for the seemingly massive multiplayer levels. While we've known that the PC version would support 64 players in its multiplayer component, Best Buy lists "massive 24-player online battles." Game Informer – which is hosting the reveal of the title via its March issue – lists the multilplayer component as supporting 64 players on PC and 24 on consoles, a not-unusual limitation for console face-shooting. And lastly, so long as you're here already, we wanted to share this video of Battlefield 3's Frostbite 2 engine busting out real-time radiosity using the Enlighten middleware toolkit. We're sure DICE will be highlighting the work it's put into this new engine, so consider this an early (and admittedly sedate) look at the tech behind BF3. [Thanks, Darren and Zach the Maniac]
Rumor: Battlefield 3 Limited Edition to include 'Back to Karkand' DLC
Although EA has yet to officially detail the contents of the upcoming Battlefield 3 limited edition, this rather official-looking image has surfaced on Gamersmint. According to the poster, the LE version (all first-run copies of the game) will include "Back to Karkand" DLC "at no additional charge." The add-on includes four maps from Battlefield 2 "re-imagined with Frostbyte 2," the upcoming sequel's new engine, in addition to new Achievements/Trophies, unique rewards, and weapons from the previous title. Those that don't get the LE will be able to buy Karkand "approximately one month after the game's release." While these details aren't confirmed, they certainly fall in line with EA's many other "Project Ten Dollar" offerings. We're bound to find out exactly what EA has planned for the LE in "late February," according to the EA Store.
Battlefield 3 targeting Fall 2011, teaser trailer out now
EA has launched the official website for Battlefield 3, revealing a Fall 2011 launch window for the DICE-developed warfare fest. The game utilizes the Frostbite 2 engine, which delivers "earth-shattering destruction" and compels official product descriptions to insert phrases like "real as hell combat gameplay" and "dramatic immersive First Person Shooter experience." To catch an early glimpse of those dramatic immersive things, you'll have to watch the game's all-too-brief teaser after the break. (Does anyone else hear a garbled Terminator theme in there?) Update: The Battlefield Blog has updated with a few more details. In addition to the "signature multiplayer," Battlefield 3 offers both single-player and co-op campaigns, a prone stance, 64-player multiplayer in the PC version and -- as seen in the trailer -- wonderful, shrieking jets.
Battlefield 3 info onslaught begins with Game Informer cover
Battlefield 3 is about to step out from under DICE's secretive cover -- and onto a magazine cover. The game is featured in the next issue of Game Informer, and the game's official site is expected to host a teaser trailer tomorrow. The title will utilize DICE's Frostbite 2 engine, which promises numerous visual enhancements (see: deferred rendering, real-time radiosity), a new animation system that originated from EA Sports, and environments that are more destructible than ever before. The developer made it clear today that it had canceled other projects in order to focus on making Battlefield 3 "the best Battlefield game ever." Battlefield 3 is expected to launch on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. We're already eager to see how how all that fancy technology holds up across three different platforms.
Battlefield 1943 and Bad Company 2: Onslaught canceled on PC
Battlefield 1943 for PC is not going to happen. Posting on the official Battlefield blog, Karl Magnus Troedsson, general manager of DICE, confirmed that both 1943 and Onslaught, a co-op add-on for Battlefield: Bad Company 2, have been "officially canceled." He states that the team is focusing all energy on Battlefield 3 in order to make it "the best Battlefield game ever" and "the biggest launch in DICE's history." (Good luck getting into a game during the first three days!) Battlefield 1943's delayed trek to PC had become hopeless in recent months, though company reps believed it was still set to deploy at some point when we followed up last summer. The downloadable experiment has been a resounding success on consoles, netting $16 million for Electronic Arts.
DICE lighting artist lists Mirror's Edge 2 on portfolio
Oscar Carlén, a lighting artist at EA's DICE studio, lists two "2009-present" projects in his portfolio: Battlefield 3 and Mirror's Edge 2. Not only do those games possibly exist, you'll be able to see what's going on in them. Battlefield 3 was first mentioned in June at a conference by EA COO John Pleasants. At that time, Pleasants also revealed a Criterion-developed Need for Speed game, which was announced again during EA's latest financial conference call -- so Battlefield 3 is somewhat of an expected property, lending credence to the existence of Mirror's Edge 2 by association. The last we heard about a follow-up to Mirror's Edge was that a "small team" was working on something back in June. Carlén could be part of that small team. It's possible, given EA's recent layoffs and turn toward more surefire franchises, that Mirror's Edge 2 did exist but no longer does. We're checking with EA to verify the information found on this portfolio and to determine the current state of the franchise. [Thanks, Tim]
Report: Battlefield 3, Criterion-developed Need for Speed underway
During a William Blair Growth Stock Conference presentation, EA's COO (John Pleasants, FYI) noted the existence of two unannounced titles -- neither of them particularly surprising if you've been keeping up on your spurious internet rumors. The first, Battlefield 3, is said to be in good shape and, even better, in good hands over at developer DICE. Unfortunately, it appears fans of frenzied first-person shootery will have to wait until the next fiscal year before returning to the field.According to G4TV's Patrick Klepek, the second title is yet another Need for Speed game, this one developed by the team behind Burnout. Pleasants allegedly praised the team for being "online-centric and notably high-quality game developers that we have out at Criterion." There's little else to go on at the moment, but we're certainly intrigued by the collision of those two racing franchises. There will be collisions, right?Source -- Need for SpeedSource -- Battlefield 3
