Yesterday EA released a server update to Battlefield 3 that fixes some issues players have been experiencing, including a much needed fix for “rubber banding”, an issue noticed when players move, stop, move, stop, in a rubbery way due to server lag. The full list of fixes are:
Fix for rubber banding
Team Deathmatch/Squad Deathmatch spawn point fix
2 crash fixes in end of round
Fix for connection problem when joining password protected servers
The update also adds a queue system for servers: players can now queue up for a server that will automatically join them as soon as a free slot is available. The update is for servers only — no action is required on the player/client side.
Regarding client patches, we’re still unsure of EA/DICE’s complete plans besides a few pointers. Client patches have to go through a series of tests and get certified by console manufacturers first before seeing release, which is why it usually takes a lot longer to release a patch. So far, all we know is that jets will see an improvement in an upcoming patch.
Throughout the marketing and promotion of Battlefield 3, developer DICE insisted that the PC was the lead platform for Battlefield 3 development, but now that the game is out, we’ve gotten the truth: according to DICE’s Karl-Magnus Troedsson in a new interview, the lead platform for Battlefield 3 was switched to consoles in “mid development”, in order to meet the release date.
“We said originally that the PC was the lead SKU of the game, but in mid-production we switched to console as lead platform to make sure we could get all the versions done for release,”
This explains many of the odd design decisions in the PC version, for example, the game menu and load-out layout is identical to consoles but looks too compressed and unintuitive on the PC — a result of it being developed for consoles and ported to the PC.
Despite what the “lead platform” was, Battlefield 3 was released on time and was well received from critics, gathering positive reviews from most publications.
Our main BF3Blog platoon on Battlelog has grown tremendously, in fact, we’re in the top 10 most popular platoons on Battlelog, with almost 600 fans. Now we’ve created additional platoons for our console fans out there, so go ahead and apply and don’t forget to become a fan of all platoons as well!
We’re accepting memberships in our PS3 and Xbox 360 platoons, while the general platoon is unfortunately full. But you can become a fan and apply to all 3 platoons, we’ll start accepting as soon as platoon size increase, which will hopefully happen soon.
EA and Dr. Pepper have initiated a new Battlefield 3 promotion where gamers can get free in-game items such as dog tags, player skins and more from select EA Dr. Pepper bottles, which each include a code for an item. However, if you’re not a big soda drinker (or Dr. Pepper fan), you can still get some new dog tags and items from the Dr. Pepper site, but you have to register. The exclusive items include the dog tags seen above, a multiplayer skin, and a PlayStation Home avatar. The promotion ends on December 31. UPDATE: the promotion is for the US only, and it appears that a code is required even if you register on the site.
There are those who hate Origin, and there are those who hate Origin. As you know, EA’s Origin service is required to play Battlefield 3, something which many gamers have complained about ever since the ties between Origin and Battlefield 3 were revealed. Now, hacker group Razor1911, known for releasing pirated and cracked versions of PC games, have released a tool for which owners of genuine copies of Battlefield 3 can use to bypass the Origin software.
Origin has been under a lot of criticism lately, mainly the privacy policies that allowed EA to snoop users’ PC systems for all sorts of data and share it with third parties. EA has since updated the terms of service.
If you decide to use the tool, or any other such hack to bypass Origin, you should know that you are violating the Origin Terms of Service, which means you’ll probably get your account suspended.
You better get into your video-watching-mode soon because we’ll be posting a lot of videos on our YouTube channel from some awesome players and video producers who have recently joined our team. We’ll start off with a general introduction to Battlefield 3 by our new member Marcelo “Critical Chocolate”, who gives a brief introduction to Battlefield 3′s multiplayer and a few tips. We’ll be expanding with more in-depth videos soon with a lot of guides and general tips on how to improve your game.
If there’s something you’d like to see addressed in the videos in particular, use the comments to let us know. And don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel!
A few days ago EA revealed that they had shipped 10 million copies of Battlefield 3, but as we know, “shipped” doesn’t mean “sold”, and many wondered how many of those copies were sold. Well now EA has revealed just how many they’ve sold: 5 million. That’s including the 3 million pre-orders of the game. EA didn’t break down how many copies were sold on the individual systems.
Battlefield 3 launched exactly one week ago in the United States, and while gamers saw some issues with game servers, most of the server issues have been resolved by now. EA also announced that the Battlefield franchise to date spans 17 titles that have sold a combined total of 50 million units.
We’ve heard a few times before that Battlefield 3 might make its way to the popular game service Steam, with EA and Valve reportedly in negotiations over the past month. Now new evidence has emerged that might give us some hope in seeing Battlefield 3 on Steam after all.
The new evidence comes from the latest Punkbuster update, which includes a new install directory at “C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\battlefield 3\“, in addition to the Origin install directory. This is by no means a conclusive piece of evidence, but it does bring some hope in seeing Battlefield 3 on Steam in the near future.
EA has released Battlefield 3 on dozens of digital distribution services, with the exception of Steam, which places restrictions on publishers regarding downloadable content and expansion packs — the main reason EA decided against offering Battlefield 3 on Steam.
DICE is currently working on a Battlefield 3 patch that will improve a number of things, fix some issues, and so on — whatever a patch is supposed to do. But the upcoming patch will also tweak some gameplay elements like weapons and vehicles, chief of which are the jets. If you’ve tried to fly a jet in Battlefield 3, you’d know that the entry bar is very steep: you are only given access to a machine gun, which is incredibly hard to rake up any points with in order to get any useful weapon unlocks, like air to air missiles or even flares.
But according to DICE’s Frederik Thylander (via Twitter), jets are getting “buffed up” in an upcoming Battlefield 3 patch. Thylander responded to complaints from users that jets are underpowered, which they in many ways are in their current form. It’s still unknown what kind of upgrades jets might receive, but at the very least, we hope that flares are available as standard.
The first Battlefield 3 expansion pack Back to Karkand is just the beginning of a set of expansions, according to EA. During their conference call with investors yesterday, EA revealed that Battlefield 3 has an “aggressive downloadable content plan”, according to EA’s Frank Gibeau. So far Back to Karkand is the only announced DLC pack, which will be free to owners of Battlefield 3 Limited Edition. But Battlefield 3 players have more to look forward to, according to Gibeau, who added:
“Our plans over the next 6 months is to have a very robust set of expansion packs past on Strike at Karkand and that we think the community’s going to be very, very excited about.”
Gibeau continued, saying that EA will be constantly improving “servers and infrastructure with new features and enhancements”. No news on what kind of expansion packs we can anticipate, but we expect the usual new maps, weapons and vehicles. Unless EA and DICE have a surprise in for us (Battlefield 2143, anyone?).
BF3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Throughout the marketing and promotion of Battlefield 3, developer DICE insisted that the PC was the lead platform for Battlefield 3 development, but now that the game is out, we’ve gotten the truth: according to DICE’s Karl-Magnus Troedsson in a new 
There are those who hate 
We’ve heard a few times before that Battlefield 3 might make its way to the popular game service Steam, with EA and Valve reportedly 
