official Battlefield 3

[ahmz]

*installs Origin

*downloads bf3 beta to origin

*clicks play

*browser window launches :/

*ea page shows "Sorry, that page doesn't exist"

*???

*release it on steam!

I've since gotten around that problem but WTH, so many more hoops

Now it's saying I need the latest nvidia drivers 285.27, well I just downloaded and installed the latest drivers from the nvidia website and the latest is 280.xx !

Installing Windows is easier than this.

[trag3dy]

My feeling is their deadline / release date has probably crept up on them, and combined with some (clearly management induced) politics around not releasing it on Steam and it being pushed out over their own content delivery system, and a promise to deliver a public beta, they've simply thrown out an old build as a "box ticking exercise" to try and keep people happy.

As has been said, I think it'll do them more harm than good in the end. I feel sorry for the developers working for these big companies sometimes.

Well it's not a new practice. They did the exact same thing with BC2. The version of that game we "beta tested" was outdated compared to the retail release they had in line.

The only thing that makes sense is this is just the demo they had at Gamescomm and that is what they are giving people repackaged as a beta. They don't really need or want our feedback on the game at this point as far as I can tell.

[TeeeJaay]

I have no issues with teamwork on the PC version. In fact, I have 5 friends with the necessary skill and experience from previous Battlefield games. We have a ventrilo server that we use to communicate and often times, we do really well because of that. As for the Xbox 360, I have only a couple of close friends that I play with regularly but not all of them are on at the same time. It's usually just me and one other person which makes for a frustrating experience when we're the only people talking in our squad.

Also, has anyone noticed something peculiar about the squad system? It seems as though you can't create your own squad. You're either in one or you're not and most of the time, you can't choose which squad to join. Actually, I think that only happens with the Xbox 360 version. I remember choosing a squad in the PC version but not creating one (like you could in Bad Company 2).

I think this is their answer for BC2's squad hopping, but it has bad downsides though namely not being able to squad up with your friends

Well it's not a new practice. They did the exact same thing with BC2. The version of that game we "beta tested" was outdated compared to the retail release they had in line.

The only thing that makes sense is this is just the demo they had at Gamescomm and that is what they are giving people repackaged as a beta. They don't really need or want our feedback on the game at this point as far as I can tell.

My same thought exactly, maybe they already all know bugs and are just waiting for players to report bugs and just counter check them with their list

Now it's saying I need the latest nvidia drivers 285.27, well I just downloaded and installed the latest drivers from the nvidia website and the latest is 280.xx !

Installing Windows is easier than this.

you can join even if you don't have the latest drivers, you can just close the pop-up window and continue to play

[AFineFrenzy]

Terrible game. Firstly I have to install the abortion that is Origin. Then, after installing the game and launching, I get taken to a WEBSITE where I have to download some stupid plugin? The server browser is literally your browser. Who thought that was a good idea?

Then there's the game itself. Choose somewhere to spawn and either get sniped or gunned down by a 3-5 man team in the space of a few seconds. Respawn, repeat. Didn't even get a chance to look around.

Battlefield would be infinitely better if it didn't have camping snipers ruining every round. Seems to share BC2s problem in that its incredibly punishing to solo/new players.

I'll stick with TF2/Nuclear Dawn.

[Digitalx]

Now it's saying I need the latest nvidia drivers 285.27, well I just downloaded and installed the latest drivers from the nvidia website and the latest is 280.xx !

Installing Windows is easier than this.

x86 http://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/285.38/285.38-desktop-win7-winvista-32bit-international-beta.exe

x64 http://us.download.nvidia.com/Windows/285.38/285.38-desktop-win7-winvista-64bit-international-beta.exe

[mattmatik]

Well it's not a new practice. They did the exact same thing with BC2. The version of that game we "beta tested" was outdated compared to the retail release they had in line.

The only thing that makes sense is this is just the demo they had at Gamescomm and that is what they are giving people repackaged as a beta. They don't really need or want our feedback on the game at this point as far as I can tell.

If that truly is the case then F them. I mean, I cannot believe some of the stuff I'm reading in this thread; things that happened with BC2 that should have been rectified. When that came out, a number of us here were so passionate about the game we waited through the busy server errors, the constant up and down server status, the lack of ANY info coming from DICE/EA...and it reads like the same thing all over again!

Makes me sad to say but I'm not even bothering with a pre-order this time. After the disaster that 1943 was and the fiasco that BC2 was, I think it's best to just wait a week or two after and see what's going on. I applaud folks like DL and the rest for continuing the commitment to BF and getting in on the beta and pre-orders; I wish I was as patient but I'm not, just fed up with the way this series is going.

I can't believe they are not putting the cammo-rose in the beta and waiting for retail. That is just beyond stupid, in my opinion. WTF are you beta testing for?

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

At least they're telling us about the changes to the final game:

The amounts of people flocking to our Open Beta is fantastic! We are happy to see so many players enjoy this Open Beta, and giving us their valuable feedback on the experience on the Battlelog forums.

This blog post is the first in a series of posts that will outline some of the changes we are making in the final game thanks to your feedback and participation in the Open Beta.

Come back regularly and stay tuned to the Battlelog forums and the News section in Battlelog for daily news and updates from DICE on how your playing the Open Beta is helping us make the final game better.

A SELECTION OF CHANGES FROM OPEN BETA TO FINAL, PART 1

(Not a complete list – for up to date news, visit the News section in Battlelog)

* Fixed occasional client crash when reviving.

* Fixed killcam showing glitched area under map if your killer is dead.

* Issue with spawning on dead squad mates fixed.

* Fixed a bug where shooting at a moving enemy could cause more than the intended amount of damage.

* Crosshairs for shotguns have been replaced with a new, thinner, art.

* A subtle low health screen effect has been added.

* Tweaked scores of Medals and Service Stars.

* Tweaked the Rank progression.

* Pushing prone on console will not play the animation twice.

* Fixed loss of Squad Leader after EOR at some times.

* Framerate stability fixes.

* The 3D spotting icons has been tweaked to better match the target’s visibility. Icons will show frequently less on mostly obscured targets.

* Fixed issue with crosshair disappearing after round transition.

* Fixed issue with crosshair disappearing after trying to deploy while the countdown timer still active.

* Squad list now shows specializations chosen, VOIP activity and dead squad mates.

* Non working options in squad menu fixed: "Private" flag and "Switch Teams".

http://blogs.battlef...a-update-1.aspx

[TheLegendOfMart]

It should have been otherwise they're wasting our bandwidth bundling it in the beta which would have been a lot smaller should that have not.

If i could have just downloaded a 1.2-1.5GB metro only version I would have but I also had to download caspian too so whether they advertise it or not if they're going to wave it in our faces then they should let us play it otherwise just don't simple as that really..

Maps arent 1.5Gb. Caspian Map is only 500Mb.

They did let us play Caspian and they tested what they wanted to be tested and took all the data they needed so they shut the servers down.

[trag3dy]

By "tweaked the rank progression" I'm assuming that will mean that it will take longer to rank up? Anyways, that all looks good. I'm actually really looking forward to release despite peoples dissatisfaction with Op. Metro.

[TheLegendOfMart]

Getting bored of people whining about the graphics, what part of "Beta" is hard to understand. Its been known since the Alpha that not all graphics options (even though they are in the options panel) are enabled or are limited as the assets arent included in the beta.

Same for consoles.

[Crisp]

My goodness. Some console players need to play more as a team and less as a running and gunning lone wolf. In most of the games I've played on the Xbox 360, I had to arm the MCOMs myself. It's sad when the entire attacking team is around one of the MCOMs and nobody arms it.

Another thing that's bad is people that push up while defending. They create gaps that the attackers can slide through and that has gotten me killed a lot of times. Imagine you're defending one of the MCOMs and you're team is all around you. They start pushing up and one enemy soldier sneaks past all of them to knife you and to arm the MCOM you were defending.

I'm beginning to think DICE wanted to appeal more to the Call of Duty crowd with this beta. :/

I was playing a round last night attacking on Metro. There was a guy on the enemy team called something like "CoD iMerKed". I thought straight away he was going to be a douche bag when he killed me and I saw his gamertag.

It was the second section of the map, me and a friend pushed to the back and armed the M-COM. This guy on the enemy team was killing us, and on the kill cam was running past the M-COM even though it was beeping. All the game he was just running around getting kills like it was Team Deathmatch.

I even caught him behind our spawn just running and gunning his M4 dropping me in one shot.

In the end, his team lost and he had a K/D on 49/6.

Proper ****es me off, some people just havn't a clue.

[trag3dy]

I was playing a round last night attacking on Metro. There was a guy on the enemy team called something like "CoD iMerKed". I thought straight away he was going to be a douche bag when he killed me and I saw his gamertag.

It was the second section of the map, me and a friend pushed to the back and armed the M-COM. This guy on the enemy team was killing us, and on the kill cam was running past the M-COM even though it was beeping. All the game he was just running around getting kills like it was Team Deathmatch.

I even caught him behind our spawn just running and gunning his M4 dropping me in one shot.

In the end, his team lost and he had a K/D on 49/6.

Proper ****es me off, some people just havn't a clue.

What ever do you mean?! He's got an impressive 5:1 kdr!! That's all that matters right? Right?!? :s

[Jamushroom Veteran]

Now it's saying I need the latest nvidia drivers 285.27, well I just downloaded and installed the latest drivers from the nvidia website and the latest is 280.xx !

Installing Windows is easier than this.

They mean the latest Beta drivers :)

@SCRISP: Jup, all the CoD players are playing the game the way they're playing CoD: Running and gunning. Just give it some time when the full game drops. The ones who really want to play the actual game (playing the objective) will stick around, the others will just fall off the wagon and go back to their mindless shooting game.

[Crisp]

Anyone up for 128 player Metro Rush? :s

http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf3/servers/show/1f8e4b2c-19a7-4799-a827-df87d0136251/JP-GameServers-com-397/

[Vice]

Is that right 128 Players? 64 on each team? :D

[idioot]

At least they're telling us about the changes to the final game:

http://blogs.battlef...a-update-1.aspx

- Fix automatic squad selection to manual, please!

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

By "tweaked the rank progression" I'm assuming that will mean that it will take longer to rank up? Anyways, that all looks good. I'm actually really looking forward to release despite peoples dissatisfaction with Op. Metro.

I'll be happy as long as it doesn't take 10,000 kills to unlock everything for each weapon. :p

I was playing a round last night attacking on Metro. There was a guy on the enemy team called something like "CoD iMerKed". I thought straight away he was going to be a douche bag when he killed me and I saw his gamertag.

It was the second section of the map, me and a friend pushed to the back and armed the M-COM. This guy on the enemy team was killing us, and on the kill cam was running past the M-COM even though it was beeping. All the game he was just running around getting kills like it was Team Deathmatch.

I even caught him behind our spawn just running and gunning his M4 dropping me in one shot.

In the end, his team lost and he had a K/D on 49/6.

Proper ****es me off, some people just havn't a clue.

Wow. :| That reminds me of a game I had where I armed an M-COM and ran away just to see if anyone would disarm it. I think you know the outcome of that "experiment". Hopefully, people will learn to work as a team to achieve objectives rather than just going for the kills.

Anyone up for 128 player Metro Rush? :s

http://battlelog.bat...ervers-com-397/

I see a server that has 40 slows which is odd. Rush on PC is supposed to be 16 versus 16.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

When I say "maps" I'm referring to the indoor and outdoor segments of Metro. They're split into different maps, aren't they?

I tried holding down the select button and just pressing it, and it never worked. The select button did nothing for me, no matter how long I pressed the button for -- believe me, I tried for about five minutes. It could've been a bug, however, I'll try again later and let you know if it changes. (Which, it could -- I've encountered so many bugs it's not even funny.) The pop-up issues were insane on my 360, and I've been hearing similar complaints from everyone I talked to. I'm not saying you're lying by any means, just that if it is related to resolution, it's impacting a lot of people, if not the majority. My TV resolution is 1366 x 768, I believe, which is what I set my HDMI to on my 360.

As far as graphics: I stand by my statement that they're bad. Not in comparison to the PC bad, I mean in comparison to other console games bad. Perhaps "bad" is a slight overstatement, but given how much they hyped them, I'm not seeing much positive at all. It's no comparison to a game like Gears of War 3, and it's nowhere near as good as Crysis 2. The video they released of the 360 version's singleplayer looked much better, which is to be expected, but I didn't expect the quality of the beta to be so poor.

To put it bluntly, there's no way on earth this will compete with Modern Warfare 3 on consoles. I'm sure the PC version will find a good community, but on the consoles it just plays like a mess, at least on what's been released thus far.

Edit: My bad, it's all still one map. I was thinking it launched different maps when you advanced.

So I am a bit confused here with the resolution. Do you somehow set your 360 custom to the resolution of 1366x768? Or do you set it to 1080i? If you somehow do it custom, think I found your problem. ;) Mine is set to 1080p to match my TV, so maybe somehow that has something to do with it. Also, I cannot help but notice you but "I believe" about the resolution. So try 720p, may make a big difference. My old TV when the 360 first came out, it was capable of 1080i, but for some reason 720p was 10 times better for me.

And If I saw the graphical issues I would say it, I could care less, I have always been getting the game for the PC and not the console, so I have no reason to defend the console version, I honestly never saw any tearing or pop in. At least nothing that threw up any flags. I thought the game looked good enough. Obviously not the PC version, but not to many people with the PC version are running it at Ultra as the videos have shown.

To me the graphics are very impressive cause I was such a fan of BF2. And when BF2 was relased, I went out and purchased a new GPU just for it IIRC, the 6800 Ultra. When you compare these graphics to BF2, considering how much larger the general maps are then other MP games, I think that says something for the graphics. They have literally advanced leaps and bounds. I know most people will compare the graphics to Bad Company 2, which sure, then there is not much of a leap, but I see this as the spiritual successor to BF2. Another things about the graphics, I played some Gears 3 MP yesterday (a little better thanks to your tips about the sound) and the Gears maps are about 1/4 the size of a BF3 map. If not smaller. That is not a knock on Gears maps, it fits the stlye of gears pretty much perfect, but that could be why it also looks better, a lot less to process.

So while I hear your criticism about the graphics, not sure they are just. The graphics are pretty impressive when you take into consideration just how much is being done on a BF map with the destruction. At least IMO.

Oh, with the select button not bringing up the score board, I am stumped. It is Hold though, definitely do remember that now.

[killmaster84]

As I didn't see this posted here,

To join the same squad as your friends(Make sure his.her squad has room) stand beside them leave your squad and rejoin a squad and you should be in there's. This works for my friends and I.

[Chemaz]

http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf3/battlereport/show/371308/1/176497987/

My best so far, happened to actually win the match as well (attacking) which is a first, finally had some semi decent squad mates who would spawn on me whenever i was at the mcom

[KoL Veteran]

I'm enjoying this game on PS3. Are we going to get another map?

[Ayepecks]

Getting bored of people whining about the graphics, what part of "Beta" is hard to understand. Its been known since the Alpha that not all graphics options (even though they are in the options panel) are enabled or are limited as the assets arent included in the beta.

Same for consoles.

Of all the features to change from a public beta, the one thing I have never seen change significantly are the graphics. And I've been in plenty of beta tests, both private and public.

So I am a bit confused here with the resolution. Do you somehow set your 360 custom to the resolution of 1366x768? Or do you set it to 1080i? If you somehow do it custom, think I found your problem. ;) Mine is set to 1080p to match my TV, so maybe somehow that has something to do with it. Also, I cannot help but notice you but "I believe" about the resolution. So try 720p, may make a big difference. My old TV when the 360 first came out, it was capable of 1080i, but for some reason 720p was 10 times better for me.

And If I saw the graphical issues I would say it, I could care less, I have always been getting the game for the PC and not the console, so I have no reason to defend the console version, I honestly never saw any tearing or pop in. At least nothing that threw up any flags. I thought the game looked good enough. Obviously not the PC version, but not to many people with the PC version are running it at Ultra as the videos have shown.

To me the graphics are very impressive cause I was such a fan of BF2. And when BF2 was relased, I went out and purchased a new GPU just for it IIRC, the 6800 Ultra. When you compare these graphics to BF2, considering how much larger the general maps are then other MP games, I think that says something for the graphics. They have literally advanced leaps and bounds. I know most people will compare the graphics to Bad Company 2, which sure, then there is not much of a leap, but I see this as the spiritual successor to BF2. Another things about the graphics, I played some Gears 3 MP yesterday (a little better thanks to your tips about the sound) and the Gears maps are about 1/4 the size of a BF3 map. If not smaller. That is not a knock on Gears maps, it fits the stlye of gears pretty much perfect, but that could be why it also looks better, a lot less to process.

So while I hear your criticism about the graphics, not sure they are just. The graphics are pretty impressive when you take into consideration just how much is being done on a BF map with the destruction. At least IMO.

Oh, with the select button not bringing up the score board, I am stumped. It is Hold though, definitely do remember that now.

I didn't recall the native resolution of my TV set with complete certainty, which is what I run my Xbox 360 at. I double-checked and it is at 1366 x 768, not the HDTV standards. The only difference is the Xbox 360 upscales certain elements to make things crisper. It shouldn't impact graphical fidelity and things like pop-in at all, but there could be some bugs relating to that given all the other bugs.

I've seen lots of graphical issues, ranging from pop-in to tearing to clipping and everything in-between. If this is truly an outdated build as people were implying, then that was a stupid decision on EA's part. They're going to lose a lot of customers because of that choice. They've lost me, at least until I play the final version (or final demo, whatever). This went from being a day-one purchase to me to something I'm not sure I'll even pick up, at least at this point.

I don't think comparing the graphics of this to Battlefield 2 -- a game that came out six years ago -- is really a comparison at all. I compare it to the Medal of Honor multiplayer (which DICE created), Battlefield 1943 and Bad Company. And, honestly, it's really not that big of an improvement. I completely agree that the scale of the maps is extremely impressive, however. I'm certainly not saying that this beta is without its high points (again, the sounds are absolutely fantastic -- honestly, the best I've ever heard in a game), just that it's left such a bad taste in my mouth with all the clear issues.

The gameplay of the beta seems good, for the most part, it's just that the bugs and map ruin it. Plus the players on the 360 are absolutely terrible. Anaron's comments about it playing like Call of Duty are completely right -- no one works together. During the games I played, only one person ever worked with me. And it worked beautifully when he and I were in the same squad. DICE needs to figure out something to do about spawn campers, too. I played a game where we'd got past the two outdoor objectives to unlock the actual metro part of the map. The enemy team camped all the entrances. It's very hard to get past 3+ proned guys at each entrance (especially that little vent entrance).

Overall, it's just not what I felt would be a good representation of the game. I really hope the kinks get worked out, because I can tell there's a good game beneath all the bugs. I don't think the graphics are very good on the 360 (at least in comparison to the top-tier games and what I was expecting), but it wouldn't stop me from buying this game. It's gone from a certain purchase to a wait-and-see for me. I was eagerly anticipating this game, too.

(I eventually got the select button to open the scoreboard. It's been pretty fudgy for me -- most games it will open, but sometimes not. Sometimes the beta won't even search for matches for me when I select quick match for some reason and I have to exit out of it and re-enter, too -- and I'll select it 10+ times. Lots of bugs that are hopefully fixed at retail.)

[Boz]

Started the Battlefield Veterans Platoon. Gonna invite some friends but I like the social aspect of it.. Emblem editor is cool. You can do some cool stuff (nothing super complex) but it works ok.

[Alladaskill17]

My only comment about the 360 beta is really just the amazingly over-brightness of the flashlight and the red laser. I do agree that Crysis 2 > BF3 in terms of graphics, sadly. Really hoped it would be on par, unless i skipped over a post where graphics will be noticeably improved in the final build.

[Boz]

Also I made this for myself but feel free to use it if you want to.

Gravatar 512x512 for Battlelog..a bit nicer than the default one if you don't have gravatar defined.

and regular avatar for anything else really including forums