Newest Trailer:

First Aftermath Trailer


Soldier Names and Favourite Servers

Brick - Brick500
Griptor - Griptor
Xbob42 - Xbob42

Here are some servers provided by our brothers in arms over at Day One Patch
Day One Patch 64 Player Conquest Server
Day One Patch Rush Server

System Requirements:

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

Pre-release Info

Well, after many years, DICE is finally coming out with a proper sequel to Battlefield 2, and they're coming out guns blazing with Call of Duty in their sites! Bad Company 2 was my first Battlefield game, and it was pretty impressive, but it was missing some of the key features of a true Battlefield game, like more players, jets, etc. Battlefield 3 is coming with everything fans of the series want and more. The PC is the lead platform, so it won't have to be watered down for the consoles like the Bad Company spin-off series, but DICE is actually going to make it all work on both the 360 and PS3 regardless.

With the future of Call of Duty up in the air at the moment with Treyarch having shipped Black Ops and out of the picture until 2012 at least, and Infinity Ward in shambles after the mass exodus, we just don't know what we're going to get from the 2011 Call of Duty game, so it seems to be the perfect time for Battlefield to come in and take the FPS crown. I'll admit that I may like the more arcade style of Call of Duty a bit more, but with the formula staying relatively the same all these years, I am starting to get a bit fatigued by it, so I may prefer a change of pace with Battlefield this year, esp. if the next Call of Duty is sub-par.

There hasn't been to much info on Battlefield 3 so far, but what little there is has me very excited. I can't wait to see what true, large scale, Battlefield style warfare is really like.

So far we have this teaser:



And here are some stills from that teaser so that you can get a better look at the all new engine DICE is using for this game, Frostbite 2:



















Mmm mmm mmm! Just think, the game is still in development too, so the graphics can only improve from here, now just imagine how much better everything will look upon release! The game is currently slated for a fall release of this year, so that it can go toe-to-toe with Call of Duty, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised, or upset if it got pushed back a bit since DICE has quite a bit on their table at the moment, and it's going to take a lot of work to get this all to run on the consoles.

Here's some information from an issue of Game Informer on the game:

-Aiming for CY Q4 2011 release
-Concept for BF3 has been in the works for years, waiting on proper tech to seamlessly come together
-Frostbite 2.0 is the culmination of this tech, entirely re-written
-Lighting sounds neat, one "probe" contains more lighting information than an entire BFBC2 level.
-Level destruction is going to be "believable" but basically everything is destructible.
-Character animations powered by ANT, what EA Sports uses.
-AI characters and multiplayer characters have different animation sets
-No more "gliding" animations that look off, animation realism is a focus
-Captured their own war audios (bullets, tanks, helicopters, etc) at different distances to ensure realism
-Better audio cues for certain actions, more easily able to listen for threats
-Plan on better, more immediate post release content
-More unlocks than BFBC2
-Dice trying to find a good balance between customization of your character and not having "pink rabbit hat(s)"
-4 classes
-Will talk about squads "later"
-Looking into a theater mode but can't talk about it
-Will have co-op
-There will be a kill-cam but it can be turned off
-BF3's team is almost twice as big as the team for BFBC2
-They want the pacing of the single player mode to be balanced, with highs and lows. Makes the comparison to a song vs a guitar solo.
-Part of the single player mode takes place in Sulaymaniyah - Iraqi Kurdistan.
-"Fuck" will be used often, so M rated for sure
-There will be an earthquake in a level. The destruction sounds very impressive. 7 story building collapses, looks very well done
-Significant narrative that goes with the SP mode
-More than one setting, you're not in the middle east for the whole game
-PC version is lead version
-Why 64 players for PC only? No complaints from the console crowd.
-No mod tools at release. Maybe none down the line either. Frostbite 2.0 is complex and mods tools would have to be dumbed down, so does Dice really want to put their time to that or would it be better spent elsewhere?
-Original story, not based on Bad Company at all.

Here's a link to the Game Informer scans if you want to read the whole story

It's all very interesting stuff, and DICE's claim of it being a next generation game, on current generation hardware seems quite accurate.

The game is getting a full reveal this week at GDC, so expect another trailer, and more news soon.

So, this is the official Battlefield 3 coverage thread, so if you find any news post it here. If a new trailer is released post it here. If you find a cool interview post it here. Let's keep this thread updated with all the news of the game as we prepare for deploymen to the third Battlefield!

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I want to put so much more time into this game but I've been so busy :(

I'll tell you one thing. They need to fix that fucking flashlight. It sucked in the beta and it continues to suck now. Playing Metro on Rush (terrible, I know) and people will be on the escalators and I'll be on the tracks on the other side and that flashlight blinds me. It's beyond annoying.

Man this game, I honestly think this is the best online multiplayer shooter I've ever played. It's just so damn good!

Can't wait until I upgrade now so that I can see it how it's meant to be seen.

@Brick
You haven't tried MW3 yet ;)

Seriously, I think it's awesome, and my game doesn't even run that well. They switched up the MP up in a significant way. BF3's seemed awesome too, but I played the unplayable PC beta, and PS3 MP is good, but it's Dual Analog so fuck that.

carlosrox said:

@Brick
You haven't tried MW3 yet ;)

Sure he has, in 2009.

Xbob42 said:

carlosrox said:

@Brick
You haven't tried MW3 yet ;)

Sure he has, in 2007.

FTFY.

@Xbob42
Are you aware basically everything is completely different (and awesome)?

@carlosrox I'm not dogging on the game at all, but how is it "completely different?" I mean, it's a little different, but completely?

@PogueSquadron
MP wise it's quite drastically different. Pace, damage, unlocks, kill streaks, progression, game modes, totally different style of maps from ever before, etc.

I don't see anyone saying BF hasn't changed...

Really? Because 90% of the reviews I read about the game are basically "Well... if you're up for more of the same, it's great!"

It's only "drastically different" if you're really deep into CoD.

Here are the changes I heard about:

1. There is a new group of kill streaks that does not reset when you die.

2. The maps in general are very small causing no real map control.

3. *Bonus XBob42 Point* No dedicated servers in ranked, only P2P.

After the first 2 I just passed completely.

@carlosrox

Completely different? Nah I wouldn't go that far, though yes there are some nice changes from what I see. Completely different however would be rewriting the MP from total scratch like they did when they moved into the modern setting with CoD4 after the first two games, and what I'm hoping they'll do for the next game now that they're done with the modern setting (unless they aren't, and will just make a new story with new characters and whatnot).

@stephen08
Bullshit. What small maps do they speak of? I was gonna say they're bigger than most. Black Ops had some big maps and I'd say some of these are even bigger. Definitely bigger than the other MW's maps.

That's a lie. Don't listen to the lie about the maps. It's not true.

@Xbob42
They're lying/stupid.

I don't think you have to be deep into COD. You just have to be not retarded. The changes are plain as day from the getgo. Within 30 seconds I noticed the pace of everything was way different. Maps are large and extremely varied in terrain, cover, detail, etc. Verticality, open areas, closed areas, tunnels, seperate winding paths, places to flank, etc. A lot of maps have a bunch of hills and slopes and shit. I can't even think of another COD that's even attempted that. Ravines? The maps are a totally different style than mostly any other COD. You'd have to be an idiot to not notice that alone from the first 10 seconds. And a lot of people are idiots. Damage is WAY higher than any COD before it (regular damage is so close to Hardcore damage), your character is usually slower in terms of throwing grenades, knife lunges, etc. The killstreaks have been totally revamped, you now get credit for every thing you do (destroy a sentry and your points go towards your kill streak), and progression with weapons is once again quite different. Every weapon has its own set of mini perks. There's now 3 types of kill streaks. Assault functions like old school COD where you can't die or you lose your streak. Specialist is team oriented kill streaks and your kill streak doesn't reset. Third one I forgot, but you unlock PERKS as you get streaks. At the end, you can have a shitload of perks (not sure if it's all of them).

The list goes on. These people are fuckin' retarded. Probably the same idiots who thought RE4 HD was a PS2 port. Fuck reviewers.

@Brick
All of the above are pretty drastically different in my book. I think these were worthy changes for a COD5.

They just sound like tweaks here and there. It's not completely different as in it's a whole new generation of CoD or anything (not that I'm saying you said that).

It just seems completely different in the same way that the NFL is completely different than it was years ago. There have been tweaks and modifications throughout the years but it's essentially the same game.

From what I can tell, if you like CoD, you'll love MW3. If you don't like CoD, then MW3 doesn't do anything that will get you interested, as it's still very much the same sort of game.

@carlosrox

No. For whatever era they do next, Future Warfare, or Steampunk Warfare, Colonial Warfare, or whatever, they need to rethink the entire formula. MW3 changes a lot from the established formula set before it in MW2, and MW1, but at the end of the day you can still see the similarities, even if there's been a lot of refinement. For the next series, I want a change like it was when they changed from WWII to modern day settings, as when you compare those two, they are indeed completely different. I'm talking about possibly getting rid of the kill/pointsteak system entirely. Do something truly different. Maybe add in vehicles even, but you have to be a specific class in order to use them or something.

It might now happen though now that the big bosses of Infinity Ward are gone, so Activision might now allow them to change stuff too much (after all they were hesitant about changing from WWII to modern combat). I also have to wonder what Respawn is up to.

Call of Duty: Mech Warfare

@Xbob42

Fap!

I think that all of carlos' comments are valid changes to the game, but in theory they almost sound like they could simply be a fan mod to the game, especially in regards to player health and damage dealt.

I think destructible environments would go a long way in taking the series into its next "generation." Could you imagine the awe of certain killstreaks with some more realistic, destructible environments? "I see two guys going into the warehouse to the northwest on my map. I have my Predator missile ready. I'm taking them out." Fire the predator missile, and bam, the building gets crushed to pieces with its inhabitants dying in the process. How sweet would that be? Or maybe you fire a missile from the sky into an open area, and BOOM, instant crater created in the ground.

Right now, CoD to me kind of just feels like a glorified laser tag, the way you dart around environments and tag your enemies. Destructible environments could be a cool way to make it feel even more like a live combat situation, which I think CoD is always striving for. If Battlefield is about feeling like you're in...well, a battlefield, then CoD has always felt more like you're in an urban warfare situation, with things being faster and more concentrated.

At this point though, for all we know, the way CoD is now is the way it will stay. They certainly don't have any reason to shake things up that much, but rather refine what is already there. They can refine how killstreaks work a little bit, refine how you can upgrade guns, etc, but in the end, it's a tweaked version of the same experience.

With CoD being as popular as it is now, it has basically become a sport, so I don't expect them to reinvent the wheel any time soon.

When I think of "completely different" versions of what is essentially the same game, I think of Counter Strike. It was basically just a mod to Half-Life, but it was modded to the point that it was incomparable to the source material. MW3 is just an evolution of MW2. Not a bad thing, but it is what it is.

4 or 5 missions into the campaign on 360...I've enjoyed watching this game so far.

Excited about getting into the multi-player aspect of it. Probably sometime this week, before Zelda hits.

@Xbob42
BF 2142 done did it