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Fox is developing a Battlefield: Bad Company TV show
An hourlong show following the foul-mouthed chaps from EA's Battlefield: Bad Company is currently in the works at Fox. John Eisendrath of Alias fame is handling writer duties and will serve as executive producer alongside Doug Robinson from studio Happy Madison, and Patrick Bach and Patrick O'Brien from EA.The adaptation of Battlefield: Bad Company will follow four soldiers transitioning from military life to the private sector, Deadline reports. Their old commanding officer apparently used them to propel the agenda of a shadow unit within the government and now wants them dead to cover his own involvement because that is exactly what the game was about.
Battlefield 3 'probably' shipping with online pass
The confusion regarding EA's plans for Battlefield 3's multiplayer access is palpable. GamerZines reports that Battlefield 3 Executive Producer Patrick Bach stated in an interview last week that the game would "probably" require a code for access to multiplayer. When pushed on whether EA would lock out second-hand players through use of an online pass, he replied, "I think we are." EA told the site it would pick up the conversation "another time." The latest major iteration of the Battlefield franchise, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, implemented a "VIP Pass," granting access to extra content, but placed no initial limitations on multiplayer access. EA's online pass (i.e. Project Ten Dollar) -- now utilized by many publishers, with Ubisoft being the latest -- cuts off multiplayer to anyone who doesn't purchase a code, which comes bundled in new copies of games. Of course, with today's announcement of EA Sports Season Ticket (i.e. Project 25 Dollar), there's a whole new level of possibility. "The whole idea is that we're paying for servers and if you create a new account there is a big process on how that is being handled in the back end," Bach said. "We would rather have you buy a new game than a used game because buying a used game is only a cost to us; we don't get a single dime from a used game, but we still need to create server space and everything for you." Update: EA's statement: "We have not made any announcements regarding Battlefield 3 and Online Pass." We've reached out to EA for clarification.
DICE: Battlefield 3 console maps more 'compact'
Speaking to Gamezone.de (as translated by CVG), DICE Executive Producer Patrick Bach explained some of the changes made to Battlefield 3 multiplayer on consoles. According to Bach, compromises had to be made in order to create the best possible experience on consoles. One such compromise is the 24-player limit we learned about earlier this year. Another compromise, he said, is the construction of more "compact" maps. Maps will be smaller than their PC counterparts, though he assures players "it's not that we have cut them in half," but rather compacted them "slightly to keep the action up." Bach mentioned Battlefield Bad Company 2 as a point of reference, noting that its maps "weren't really small on console." Having spawned at the base with no vehicles many times, we'd be hard-pressed to disagree. Speaking of vehicles, Bach did confirm that jets will be available in the console version, so virtual pilots can rest easy.
Mysterious Battlefield 3 paperback/eBook spotted online
Listings for a book (potentially) based on Battlefield 3 have started cropping up at various literary outlets around the web, in both paperback and eBook flavors. Amazon lists the book as a 400-page "Mass Market Paperback" by Andy McNab, an author and war-vet who, according to Gamersbook, has been advising BF3 developer DICE on their motion-capture techniques. Barnes & Nobel also has a listing for Battlefield 3, this time in as a Nook eBook, with both McNab and BF3 Executive Producer Patrick Bach cited as authors. We can also assume that these listing aren't for a strategy guide, as the "Mass Market Paperback" classification is reserved for novels and the like, whereas strategy guides are classified as "Paperbacks." The tremendously tantalizing tome is available for pre-order at both outlets, with Amazon listing the release date as October 25 and B&N reporting a November release window. We've reached out to the book's registered publisher, Grand Central Publishing, for more information.
Battlefield 3 gameplay video, now with developer commentary
Enough people have "liked" EA's Battlefield 3 on Facebook that a new video has been unlocked, and this time it's actually a commentary track to the 12 minutes of gameplay revealed back at GDC. Executive producer Patrick Bach shares all kinds of insights and secrets on the track, from the fact that attack plan map is actually just a placeholder to the return of a familiar series star. A lot of the commentary is pretty promotional (yes, Patrick, we know we're seeing lots of effects and that they're courtesy of that amazing Frostbite 2 engine), but there are some good bits in there and, if nothing else, it'll give you an excuse to watch that gameplay video again. You can see a YouTube version of the footage with commentary after the break.
Battlefield 3's executive producer, on balancing realism in Frostbite 2
It's been over five years since Battlefield 2. Although DICE has had concepts for a sequel in mind since then, the real work could only begin once the team had the tool Battlefield 3 demanded: a new engine. Why? "The short answer is this: No other engine can build a Battlefield game." "If you don't have the right tech, you can't build the right experience," DICE executive producer Patrick Bach told us. Unlike other engines, which are meant to be repurposed and packaged for third-party licensors, Frostbite's reason for existence is singular: "The Frostbite engine is solely created to make Battlefield games." Battlefield 3 is unnervingly beautiful. The GDC presentation is one of those rare moments where you see a new graphical benchmark being defined. Bach claims they are the "first ones in the next generation." Seeing the game running on a souped-up PC, it's hard to disagree.
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.
Interview: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Senior Producer Patrick Bach
The Battlefield: Bad Company 2 celebrity bracket challenge was a lonely event for us gamers -- while there were lots of TV stars and NFL players around to talk to, we had to really search the club for someone who actually had some insight on the game for us. But there in the back, among the PR organizers and "Athlete Relations" representatives, we found the game's senior producer Patrick Bach (second from right in the picture above). He may never have starred on a network drama or celebrated on the field after a touchdown, but the guy knows how to make first-person shooters, and that's good enough for us. After the break, hear what he thinks of celebrities playing his game, just how ready DICE is for release, and what kinds of secret plans his team has for DLC.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 to have day-one DLC
In what's becoming the rule rather than the exception for EA games, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will receive day one DLC. Speaking to Worthplaying, senior producer Patrick Bach said, "We have an in-game store where you get free content or you can buy new content to the game, so it's a very integral part of the game that we will have a long post-launch campaign. I think people will be thrilled to see what's in that already. On day one, you will get some really cool stuff." It's still not clear if that "really cool" stuff will be free, for-pay or both -- in the case of EA's usual in-the-box DLC strategy, it would be free to new buyers and sold separately for used copies of the game. You'll remember that during the release of the first Bad Company, EA was actually threatened with a boycott for its (soon abandoned) strategy that would have created an in-game gap between players that spent extra money and those who didn't. Hopefully EA and DICE will be a bit smarter about things this time around.
