Battlefield 3

[hampus_dh]

I do agree however when the full game hits Metro will probably be a nice map to break up the large vehicle heavy maps with some more close quarters stuff. I really do enjoy that map. Is it battlefield's signature map? No. Should the open beta have been on it? God no.

But if Metro was released with the game as just a regular close quarters infantry map then I doubt you'd see even half the negative reactions towards it. Caspian definitely should have been the Beta map but this is what we've got so I'm happy for now. What are we now? Less then a month? And I can't wait.

Edit: Time Attack while I agree the battle doesn't always take place over the whole map all the time it quite often does when vehicles get involved. Did you play BC2? Conquest with vehicles will take up huge maps even with 24 players.

agree 100%

this map really shows off the lighting in the subway.

ANT is pretty damn cool aswell!

 

[Omnis]

Had a couple of better rounds. I figured out why it was such a pain in the ass though. Basically, the first stage is completely broken. You can camp out underneath the map at A while in prone and just kill everyone without being seen. Once you get into the subway tunnels the game is a lot better. It's that broken A that ruins it. But, of course, by the time you get into the subway the game is pretty much decided.

The good news is that Battlelog is down so hopefully they're fixing it. And hopefully they're unlocking Caspian Border while they're at it!

Edit: OOOOHH!!! I got into caspian border finally! Man this is awesome. Password is shoppingcartsareagoodride. Enjoy

Pics in case you think I'm BSing:

(don't mind the Cheez-Its)

(this is what happens when a chopper fires on the tank)

 

[Blackbird.]

Got into a server, played for ten minutes, gave up in disgust.

Movement is significantly improved compared to BC2 but it's still nowhere near as smooth and responsive as, say, COD. Also ran pretty well on my system, which was a pleasant surprise (game was auto-set to high afaik). Apart from that though, I'm really not feeling it. I can usually tell if I'm going to enjoy something within the first 30 minutes of playing it - I couldn't even muster up the desire to keep playing the beta, so yeah. Not sure if I even want to hop back in and play a complete game.

Don't mean to sound like an ass Sharky but it sounds like you were setting this game up for failure from the beginning.

Had a couple of better rounds. I figured out why it was such a pain in the ass though. Basically, the first stage is completely broken. You can camp out underneath the map at A while in prone and just kill everyone without being seen. Once you get into the subway tunnels the game is a lot better. It's that broken A that ruins it. But, of course, by the time you get into the subway the game is pretty much decided.

The good news is that Battlelog is down so hopefully they're fixing it. And hopefully they're unlocking Caspian Border while they're at it!

Edit: OOOOHH!!! I got into caspian border finally! Man this is awesome. Password is shoppingcartsareagoodride. Enjoy

Pics in case you think I'm BSing:

(don't mind the Cheez-Its)

(this is what happens when a chopper fires on the tank)

Bah well all the servers are packed and will constantly fill up so. Don't think people will let up.

 

[Omnis]

This map is so big that it's hard to get points. Not enough enemies around. Also, the mounted guns have audio feedback now. Their firing rate will slow before they seize up.

 

[Sharky.]

Don't mean to sound like an ass Sharky but it sounds like you were setting this game up for failure from the beginning.

No offence taken.

I'd seen videos and heard the thoughts of people whose opinions I value, and the general consensus was that the beta (and by a slightly limited extension BF3 final) was a huge letdown. I'm not one to go "so and so said it's rubbish so it must be OMG", which is why I downloaded the beta to try it for myself - at this point I was thinking it couldn't be as bad as some people were making it out to be, how could DICE screw up a game as huge as Battlefield? Right?

Getting the beta downloaded was a hassle enough as Origin kept randomly pausing it for no reason, and then there's Battlelog which, to be frank, completely stinks. It might've been good if it was just a stat tracking/social service akin to what COD Elite will be and the server browser was in the game but EA being EA had to put their mitts in it.

Got into a game, ended up running around in circles for a couple of minutes as I adjusted to the slightly different control scheme vs BC2, got shot. Respawned, got shot again, this time with the deathcam showing a tree. For the next five or so minutes I spent my time getting killed in a fraction of a second by people I couldn't even see - not only are the player models hard to distinguish from the environment, it seemed as though the player name wasn't even popping up over an enemy's head when looking at them. Grenades and bullets were rolling around corners, 80% of the deathcams involved someone that was prone, climbing over obstacles was unbearably awkward and the gun sounds, as in every FPS so far, are worse than GT5's vacuum cleaner engine sounds.

I wanted the beta to be good, but for me it didn't turn out that way. In my eyes DICE just copy+pasta'd Bad Company 2, made the movement a little bit better (movement in BC2 was horrible so that's not much of an accomplishment, mind), changed uglified the HUD, made part of the game into a website, added seemingly pointless gadgets like the flashlight and slapped a new sticker on the thing. Battlefield 3? More like Bad Company 3 imho.


But hey, at least it alt-tabs really fast like they claimed!

 

[Famine]

Got into a server, played for ten minutes, gave up in disgust.

Movement is significantly improved compared to BC2 but it's still nowhere near as smooth and responsive as, say, COD. Also ran pretty well on my system, which was a pleasant surprise (game was auto-set to high afaik). Apart from that though, I'm really not feeling it. I can usually tell if I'm going to enjoy something within the first 30 minutes of playing it - I couldn't even muster up the desire to keep playing the beta, so yeah. Not sure if I even want to hop back in and play a complete game.

I agree with this, but with the added note that I played for an hour.

It seems to have exactly the same flaws as BC2. I partied up with a friend, joined a game and we got put on different squads so we couldn't talk to each other - though we were at least on the same side. I got dropped out of a game without warning, at which point it seemed to go in an endless loop of loading/helpful messages. It took a minimum of two shots to drop any enemy at all, whereas I was only hit six times in that hour and killed six times. The screen is massively cluttered - all your team show up as blue triangles with blue health bars and blue PSNIDs, unless they're on your squad in which case it's green and there's fifteen of them - which makes it difficult to even see enemies, let alone shoot them twice.

Graphically it's a bit... meh, but it's a Beta, what do you expect. The sounds are nice. The controls aren't what I'm used to and I didn't see anything telling you what they are (it's BC2's controls again), but it's fine once you spend a few minutes working it out somewhere safe.


I didn't enjoy BC2 and I didn't enjoy this demo. BF3 won't be bought. Before anybody asks, no I won't be getting MW3 either (not at launch at least).

 

[DustDriver]

I liked the demo. Obviously a beta though, At one time I knifed someone, wanted to shoot someone else right after but the only thing what happened was the knife swinging in the air.
Sometimes can't switch to aiming down the sight. Have to run a short distance before it works again. Same the other way around.

I do like the shotgun though, and the surround sound is just amazing. I thought a real ambulance drove by, but it was just ingame.

 

[hampus_dh]

somebody call the WAAAAAAAAAMBULANCE!

Complaining becausr you die is pretty funny, it's not cod where you get a navigator on where people hide.

 

[Famine]

Complaining becausr you die is pretty funny

Who did that then?

it's not cod where you get a navigator on where people hide.

Given that there are killcams and every shot the enemy fired shows up on the HUD as a red arrow indicating position and direction, yes it is.

 

[hampus_dh]

Who did that then?

Given that there are killcams and every shot the enemy fired shows up on the HUD as a red arrow indicating position and direction, yes it is.

sharky.

kill cam doesn't tell you much and arrows only show up when you see them or someone spots them.

 

[Blackbird.]

sharky.

kill cam doesn't tell you much and arrows only show up when you see them or someone spots them.

Well I think he's talking about when the HUD (near your gun) lights up in the direction you were getting hit from, and not only spot... Unless their gun is silenced they'll show up when firing if you're close enough.

 

[Famine]

sharky

Nope. He was complaining about the graphics, not about being killed.

Respawned, got shot again, this time with the deathcam showing a tree. For the next five or so minutes I spent my time getting killed in a fraction of a second by people I couldn't even see - not only are the player models hard to distinguish from the environment

I didn't find it as bad as that, but I can see what he means.

kill cam doesn't tell you much

I found it useful, as the background told you where they were - though Sharky would agree as he saw a tree.

and arrows only show up when you see them or someone spots them.

Nope. On the radar (HUD), the red arrows show up every time they shoot. On the main screen red arrows show up when any enemy is spotted.

 

[Sharky.]

Well I think he's talking about when the HUD (near your gun) lights up in the direction you were getting hit from

Partially, I was finding once my screen lit up I was already dead!

I could literally scan my crosshairs directly over an enemy and not receive any feedback that I had seen someone, whether it be via the spotting marker or their name popping up above their head. The latter is of particular note because I thought I saw an enemy standing by a wall in the underground part of Metro and was just about to shoot when I saw that the name hovering a good distance above his head belonged to him, and not a teammate that I thought was on the other side of the wall...!

 

[Blackbird.]

Anyways, I was able to get in Caspian Border like an hour or so ago and played 3 rounds. I never got to use the AH-1Z. The AH-64 must be that bad because it was constantly unused and yes... It is that bad. Controls are as worse if not worse than BC2. Completely destroys the helo experience for me. But the AH-1Z was clamored for so maybe it's controls are not sluggish and more responsive, which is what made the Cobra(or in this case Viper) awesome. The jets... I have no idea i'm not getting them. I have a short clip I recorded of me taking off and shortly getting shot down or something? Might be more beta glitches I encountered. So basically the most enjoyable part of it was the tanks and mini-battles that occurred at flag points. I can only hope some of the other choppers are more flyable. I'm optimistic because every game i've played, even BF2: Special Forces the AH-64 was horrible horrible to fly. Anyways a few pictures, the clips I recorded are so short I don't think it's worth showing but I can upload them if people want. *shrug*

Waiting to begin the first round

Awesome pilot.

Awesome pilot going up in flames

I give you: Caspian Border from tank gunner POV

 

[Blackbird.]

A few more pictures to ruin your guys' internet then i'm done.

Trying to take out Viper with .50 cal

Piloting the AH-64, this must be the definition of tunnel vision.

Admiring Caspian Border

Nice lighting effect, looks perrty. Can imagine it will screw you up bad if an enemy is attacking you at higher ground in this direction.

Tank convoy marching to take out an enemy outpost. Would also be good fun with a communicating four man squad to take it over.

 

[Christhedude]

how did u get that map?

 

[Blackbird.]

All the servers running the map are EA Testing servers, the passwords to get into those servers have been circulating and changing over the past couple of days. After persistent attempts I was able to jump into an empty server which filled up immediately. Just have to do a search for Caspian Border on the Server Browser on the Battlelog browser. Password was/is: shoppingcartsareagoodride (Thank you Omnis for the info. 👍 )

EDIT: I suppose I failed to mention this map is more enjoyable than Metro for me. For me this map is much more true to what I think of when I hear "Battlefield". Yes there's more running/driving. Yes you don't rack up points as much as an infantry map although if you are really good in a jet or a chopper you can rack up a ton of points. But for me it's about enjoying it than getting points or bitching about how long it takes to get from point to point. I enjoy realism.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

I'm loving the beta so far, ignoring the glitches and problems. The only thing getting to me is the amount of camping going on, especially spawn camping!

Eager for the release of MW3 so the CoD fans return to CoD!

 

[Blackbird.]

Was able to get one more round of CB. Got a jet for a little got no kills the controls are more sluggish than BF2 was. Which seems to be the trend nowadays for them. Oh well, I really need to get to play this when I have time.

 

[bevo]

I'm loving the beta so far, ignoring the glitches and problems. The only thing getting to me is the amount of camping going on, especially spawn camping!

Eager for the release of MW3 so the CoD fans return to CoD!

I don't understand peoples complaints about spawn camping. Just spawn on a squad member. I haven't been spawn camped yet on either map unless I didn't pay attention and spawned myself right in the middle of a fight, and have at least a couple hours of play time in so far.

 

[Blitz187]

-PS3 player-

Had some time this afternoon to try it out... And my first impressions are good I quite like it... Don't think I played long enough though to experience any of the bugs mentioned by some members here.... And usually when I got shot by someone I didnt see they were prone hiding behind something... Have to get use to that because BC1 and BC2 you weren't able to go prone... Going to give it another whirl tonight...

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

I don't understand peoples complaints about spawn camping. Just spawn on a squad member. I haven't been spawn camped yet on either map unless I didn't pay attention and spawned myself right in the middle of a fight, and have at least a couple hours of play time in so far.

The problem being when all your squad members are dead, including when you try to spawn on a squad member, they die, then you get auto-spawned at the spawn base.

Defenders running back to the attackers spawn base to camp is the most pointless thing ever. They're supposed to be defending an objective, not playing hide-and-seek with shotguns.

Really enjoying the sniping now I have a bipod. It's tricky enough to make 50% of shots at longer ranges miss or injure without killing. The bullet drop is a lot harder to master than BC2, should be a lot of fun on the larger maps.

 

[mr_geez]

After few more hours ( Level 17 , 1.5 W/L ratio , 1.71 K/D ratio ) , I like it much more.

You have to know your routes to not get killed in a second ( for example I can't break through right side of the map at first base while attacking, amount of campers going prone on the island and it the grass is absolutely crazy, thankfully you can make quick run near the walls on the left side, plant A and then begin to clear enemy positions from the back).

few points

- shame you can't "cook" grenade

- nice that you can choose "fire method" (single shot, burst , full auto) on selectable weapons

- it's weird they switched ammo box/medi (wow! are they big or what?) kit to left on dpad , it got me into trouble few times while I was maniacally pressing right while being out of ammo

- knifing animation is longer than "training montage" in rocky movies and you need at least 2 knife swipes to kill someone from the front

- m249 saw with bipod and 3,4 zoom is such a killing machine, hate mail I received because of it was highlight of the evening for me

- battles in metro section are great

- stand near burning car , great lighting effect (just like tactical light, lasers sights and night vision)

- spawning on your teammates can get you into very tricky situations

- tried every sound setting and it is still not on par with bc2. it needs to be more dynamic, the voice overs are lagging, are all in english (I miss "jebachka! graanaaaaaata!" so much )

- the destruction is more distinguishable after longer time, but you have to spend a lot of explosives/ammo to notice it

- btw if you see a tree, rock, rubbles during killcam, chances are high that your killer is already dead (even if the killcam shows 100% health)

- thankfully it's not Modern Warfare (didn't see any lag-dedicated servers, no killstreak awards, dolphin jumping , quick scoping etc not effective, no cheesy infographics and hacks)

Overall , if they step up with the graphics (and I repeat, I know they can since bad company 2 had similar problems in its Beta stage) , pump up the sound and balance the damage system we can have an absolutely fabulous game on our hands!

I'm very happy with it at the moment and it can only get better!

 

[Omnis]

Well, good thing we got in some Caspian Border while we could. They've concluded testing and are now shutting those servers down.

You're welcome, Blackbird. It really is a beautiful map. If you were able to hop in a plane, as soon as you gain altitude you see that the country on one side of the border is completely engulfed in flames. Such a cool effect.

I also read that they disabled the "Ultra" settings even though you can still select them. I didn't really notice much of a difference going from high to ultra, and my 480gtx didn't really sweat it either.

 

[Akira AC]

I played yesterday on both PC and PS3.

Impressions:

The Metro map is great, and I have to say that is very close combat orientated. The gunfights are harder than BF2 and BFBC2, you die very easily if you are not careful. The environments are very saturated(in a good way) and it requires some skill to achieve kills, the environment creates several flanking opportunities and stealth opportunities however these are filled with animations so is hard to not shoot a moving tree or bush. The detail is incredible and I did notice some higher resolution of the textures on PC, and better particle effects.

I played Caspian border but no luck, my ping was so high and it was so laggy that I couldn't play properly, is mostly attributed to the internet connection on my location, but is nice to nice big maps back.

Now, one thing that pisses me off from it is the stupid vehicle respawn which wasn't fixed, is always a fight between two or tree guys to take the aircraft, and they always end up assuming that the controls are different and always plumb the aircraft into the ground, its a nightmare. I got the chance of playing with a heli from the Russian team, it was very laggy but it felt mostly like BFBC2, is easier to control than BF2 and the cockpit view fills all the screen. Apart from that, I played with the sniper class for a bit, and is really interesting to use the camouflage to snipe properly, but is really really hard to find snipers with the new level layout.

Overall it feels better than BFBC2 but not as action packed as BF2, being a long time BF2 player I assumed that the game will be very action packed, it is but is not as intense as previous games.

And I love the animation when the aircraft flight very low and the jet wash moves the trees, its absolutely fantastic, also the sounds which are top class and better than MoH 2010.

 

[hampus_dh]

Can´t wait for HQ. Hopefully kill cam, triangles you name it dissappears so you get the full sensation on being in a war.

I´d imagine the tactics of the teams would be very different aswell.

 

[CMvan46]

Mr Geez I figured out that route last night too and in 3 straight attacking rounds I had both plants

I still don't really have a good idea of what to do in the tunnels though.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Judging by the pics above, the graphics on Caspian Border are miles ahead of the current subway map. Plus all the tanks and jets, thats Battlefield to me. Not the current Subway map. Plays too much like COD.

 

[hampus_dh]

Can´t connect now for some reason :S

EDIT: WTF? "Game session has expired" after like 3-4 seconds while it´s loading up.

Then i press again and this comes up,

"A generic game error was reported, please try again. ( code: 1 )"

 

[CMvan46]

Can´t connect now for some reason :S

EDIT: WTF? "Game session has expired" after like 3-4 seconds while it´s loading up.

Then i press again and this comes up,

"A generic game error was reported, please try again. ( code: 1 )"

I tried to download it on pc and I get an error every time. I haven't even joined one game yet to see how it is...