BF3 Tweaks and Help Thread

W

WorldExclusive

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Apr 26, 2009
Messages
11,548
I think this thread will be useful in solving most of the common issues that are overlooked in the main thread.
Post any fixes you find so that other [H] members can reduce or eliminate their issues.
As fixes are found, I will add them to the OP.

This is not a Rage/Soapbox thread, please refrain from it. This is to help members who are having issues.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Battlefield 3 Help Section:

System Issues:

- Stuttering

- Disable HyperThreading in BIOS
- If you have a dual core CPU, manually set Affinity in task manager to 1 core .
- Uninstall AMD CAP profiles (Make sure to uninstall the video driver also and clean the registry, reinstall driver when done.)
Click to expand...

- Crashing

Try setting the Origin.exe, BF3.exe and youe web browser .exe to "Run As Administrator".
Click to expand...


- Game displaying Medium Settings when set to Ultra

Press the Windows Key to force the game to Window Mode, click on the game window to go back into the game. Ultra settings should ow be applied.
You can also, go to video settings in the option and back to game, and Ultra will be applied.
Click to expand...

Origin Issues:

- Battlelog:

Disable Adblocker, NoScript, Lower Firewall Settings, Open closed Ports, Enable uPnP etc.
Click to expand...

- Downloading

For Retail Copies, Do not pause the download, this will cause the download speed to be reduced greatly.
Click to expand...

Have you tried:

1. Open up C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Battlefield 3

2. Rename the Bf3.exe DiP Somethingsomething to Bf3.exe

3. Restart Origin.
Click to expand...

Blank Download Screen or Failed Download? Try reinstalling Adobe AIR and/or up date your system Time/Day/Year.
Click to expand...

- PunkBuster or Connection Issues:

Official DICE Fix

If you have been receiving the "You have been kicked by the Administator" message while playing Battlefield 3 you may need to manually update your Punkbuster installation.
First, download PBSetup from here: http://battlelog-cdn.battlefield.com/public/pbsetup.exe [battlelog-cdn.battlefield.com]
When you start PBSetup, you will be presented with EvenBalance's license agreement. Accept the agreement to proceed.
The utility will then download information about the latest PunkBuster version for BF3. Once this is complete, you are presented with a list of the PunkBuster-enabled games that are present on your systems.

If Battlefield 3 is not in that list, you can add it:
- Click on "Add a Game"
- In the topmost dropdown box, choose "Battlefield 3"
- Click on "Add Game"
- You should now have Battlefield 3 in the list of PunkBuster-enabled games.

Finally update the PunkBuster DLLs. Click on Battlefield 3, and choose "Check for Updates". PBsetup will check if the DLLs are up-to-date; if not, the latest DLLs will be downloaded and installed. .
At this point PunkBuster is fully up to date and configured for Battlefield 3.

Additional Methods

Method 1

Select Campaign in Battlelog
Start Singleplayer
Wait for Intro
In the start menu select Options
Select Gameplay
At the bottom of the list, set "Allow PunkBuster" to Yes.
Exit
Start Multiplayer

Method 2

Right clicking and hitting "check for errors" in origin would download the punkbuster files automatically but would also result in Origin messing up the installation - requiring you to delete the entire game and downloading another 11GB.
Before deleting the game though, I sneaked the Punkbuster files out to my desktop, redownloaded the game, and put them back in. Bam - it finally worked.

Method 3

This is for people who are getting "You were kicked by an administrator"

Ok this is how i fixed it.

1. Seeing as the server/thread is down im going to link the files needed directly. http://www.mediafire.com/?5q858ofa6m2ozqu [mediafire.com]

2. Extract That folder to your Battlefield 3 beta install folder.
Ok some people seem to be having trouble with this step. So i'll clarify further.
The folder that you download from mediafire "pb" needs to be put into your C:/Program Files/Origin games/Battlefield 3 Beta
The entire folder NOT just the files.....

3. Right click punkbuster installer run as administrator "pbsvc.exe" It's locate in:

C:/Program Files/Origin games/Battlefield 3 Beta/_Installer/punkbuster/redist For 32 bit OS
C:/Program Files (x86)/Origin games/Battlefield 3 Beta/_Installer/punkbuster/redist For 64 bit OS


Method 4

1: Close Origin, go to your Battlefield 3 install folder (C:\Program Files(X86)\Battlefield 3\) and delete the folder "pb".
Make sure anti firewalls or anti virus programs are closed.
2: Open Origin AS ADMINISTRATOR
3: Right click Battlefield 3, repair install.
4: Once repaired, check the Battlefield 3 folder to see if the /pb/ folder was added. If so, try playing the game.

Method 5

Port Fix
http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf3/news/view/2832654773849669037/
Click to expand...

- Phyiscal Warfare Pack:

I saw that it was applied to my account today. If you still don't have it, EA/DICE is aware of the issue and it working on it.
Click to expand...

Configuration Issues:

- KB/Mouse

A joystick or 360 controller may interfere with you mouse sensitivity/dead zone. You may have to disconnect them to fix mouse issues.
Click to expand...

Lower the sensitivity in the menu, this could eliminate the feeling of having mouse acceleration.
Click to expand...

- Joystick

- 360 Controller

Video Card Issues:

- Green Flashes:

Nvidia and AMD are having issues with this. Will have to wait for a driver update.
Click to expand...

Eyefinity/Surround issues:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tweaks, Tips and Tricks:

- Console Command Tweaks:

Display FPS: Render.DrawFps
Possible Performance Boost: WorldRender.DxDeferredCsPathEnable 0 <-- This one (I assume since I don't run any form of AA) gave me a ~10-15 fps boost and I did not notice any visual differences
Disable AO: PostProcess.DynamicAOEnable 0 <-- This one seems to ensure that no form of Ambient Oclusion is used.
To Permanently Apply FPS and Display Settings - Render.PerfOverlayEnable 1 and Render.PerfOverlayVisible 1
Click to expand...

- Go from FullScreen to Desktop/Window Mode Tip:

Press the Windows Key, game window will immediately go into window mode.
Click to expand...

-Larger Mini-Map

Press M to bring up the Mini-Map, then press N to display the larger Mini-Map
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I was getting a lot of graphical stuttering no matter what settings I used in-game. Sprinting in game made it even more evident. Felt laggy as hell.

Disabled HT and everything is buttery smooth, even on Ultra.

Core i7 920 at 3.4 Ghz
EVGA GTX 580 / EVGA X-58
6GB Corsair
Latest Nvidia WHQL
 
For the "Tweaks" side of thing,

I'm trying to get something simple like having "Render.DrawFPS 1" automatically applied at every game launch and having no success.

I've located files in \Users\Username\Documents\BF3

And if I open "PROF_SAVE_profile" I see what is basically a config file. I've placed it in there as "GstRender.DrawFPS 1" set the file read-only.

Launch the game and it hasn't been applied.

I'm hoping we/someone can figure this out.
 
Hi [H],

My roommate is having a strange problem with his BF3/Battlelog setup. Whenever I create a party, he can get it fine 85% of the time. When I attempt to Party Join a server, myself and my other buddy can get in fine (as in, actually connecting to the server), but my roommate's Battlelog sits there with the message "Waiting for the Party Host to begin," or something like that. Now, when he joins the server alone, everything works as planned. It's like his browser isn't starting the BF3 executable after a Party Join has been initialized.

So my questions are:
  • Is anyone else experiencing this issue?
  • Is it a problem with Battlelog, his browser, or BF3?
  • How could this be solved? Run the browser as admin? Disable DEP? etc
 
A friend of mine this morning let me know how he fixed stuttering on his DUAL.. core E8400.

Since it doesn't have HT, he has to manually set Affinity in task manager to 1 core. He says he found this on the EA BF3 forum and while dropping some frames he has no stuttering issues.

As for console tweaks, I played with all the commands last night.

The interesting ones for me were

WorldRender.DxDeferredCsPathEnable 0 <-- This one (I assume since I don't run any form of AA) gave me a ~10-15 fps boost and I did not notice any visual differences
PostProcess.DynamicAOEnable 0 <-- This one seems to ensure that no form of Ambient Oclusion is used.
 
Last edited:
fat_al said:
Hi [H],

My roommate is having a strange problem with his BF3/Battlelog setup. Whenever I create a party, he can get it fine 85% of the time. When I attempt to Party Join a server, myself and my other buddy can get in fine (as in, actually connecting to the server), but my roommate's Battlelog sits there with the message "Waiting for the Party Host to begin," or something like that. Now, when he joins the server alone, everything works as planned. It's like his browser isn't starting the BF3 executable after a Party Join has been initialized.

So my questions are:
  • Is anyone else experiencing this issue?
  • Is it a problem with Battlelog, his browser, or BF3?
  • How could this be solved? Run the browser as admin? Disable DEP? etc
Click to expand...

Try running the browser as admin, also make sure uPnP is disabled, if it's already disabled, enable it.
More than likely it an BL issue. It's only been 36 hours since launch, I'm sure many of the BL issues will be sorted out over time. Thankfully your friends can atleast join your squad.

Druneau said:
A friend of mine this morning let me know how he fixed stuttering on his DUAL.. core E8400.

Since it doesn't have HT, he has to manually set Affinity in task manager to 1 core. He says he found this on the EA BF3 forum and while dropping some frames he has no stuttering issues.

As for console tweaks, I played with all the commands last night.

The interesting ones for me were

WorldRender.DxDeferredCsPathEnable 0 <-- This one (I assume since I don't run any form of AA) gave me a ~10-15 fps boost and I did not notice any visual differences
PostProcess.DynamicAOEnable 0 <-- This one seems to ensure that no form of Ambient Oclusion is used.
Click to expand...

Thanks, added to OP. Looking for more Crash fixes!
 
Last edited:
Here's one more issue. Battlelog server filter does not work if you have NoScript / AdBlock enabled.
Took me a while to figure out why the hell the checkboxes do not stay ticked.
 
i am having a little bit of keyboard and mouse binding issues. i remapped most everything to the number pad and i couldnt move around in an empty server and i also couldnt get out of a tank that a team mate was driving in another.

just wondering if anyone else was having same type of thing.
 
fat_al said:
Hi [H],

My roommate is having a strange problem with his BF3/Battlelog setup. Whenever I create a party, he can get it fine 85% of the time. When I attempt to Party Join a server, myself and my other buddy can get in fine (as in, actually connecting to the server), but my roommate's Battlelog sits there with the message "Waiting for the Party Host to begin," or something like that. Now, when he joins the server alone, everything works as planned. It's like his browser isn't starting the BF3 executable after a Party Join has been initialized.

So my questions are:
  • Is anyone else experiencing this issue?
  • Is it a problem with Battlelog, his browser, or BF3?
  • How could this be solved? Run the browser as admin? Disable DEP? etc
Click to expand...
I'm having a similar issue with my friend. However, he doesn't even see party join or anything happening when party actions occur. We just gave up and had him follow me into servers.
 
Rustic said:
i am having a little bit of keyboard and mouse binding issues. i remapped most everything to the number pad and i couldnt move around in an empty server and i also couldnt get out of a tank that a team mate was driving in another.

just wondering if anyone else was having same type of thing.
Click to expand...

You can't roam around in empty servers, it needs about 8 people to start.
You must have double mapped your use key or didn't map it. Go back make sure the exit/enter/use key isn't mapped twice.
 
WorldExclusive said:
You can't roam around in empty servers, it needs about 8 people to start.
Click to expand...

You can if the server is set to start with less people. My server is set to start with one player. In fact there are just 2 people in there right now screwing around.

 
$trider said:
You can if the server is set to start with less people. My server is set to start with one player. In fact there are just 2 people in there right now screwing around.

Click to expand...

I did find one last night that let me start with just me; gave me a chance to play around with the Hornet a little bit.
 
anyone have any suggestions for a jittery mouse? I'm using a Razr Mamba right now and it is really sensitive even with the sensitivity slider set pretty low..
 
Intel_Hydralisk said:
I'm having a similar issue with my friend. However, he doesn't even see party join or anything happening when party actions occur. We just gave up and had him follow me into servers.
Click to expand...

I was having the same issue when using FF as a browser. Could be an add-on I had installed. When i changed IE back to default browser and battlelog launched in IE I was able to join party without any issues
 
NCFireRescu said:
I was having the same issue when using FF as a browser. Could be an add-on I had installed. When i changed IE back to default browser and battlelog launched in IE I was able to join party without any issues
Click to expand...

We were both using chrome and then switched to IE to see if that worked... updated IE and its flash plugin as well. Nothing worked. It might have something to do with his router is my guess.
 
Having issues in getting the game installed/downloaded, I currently have Origin up to date and all my games that I own currently in origin, I entered my Cd key for BF3 but when I try to click on download for BF3 it gets to like 20% and than it causes my system to crash (Black Screen like Blue Screen of death, says something about hardware changes which may have caused the crash but no other game has done this) I even tried installing from retail disc and same thing what is weird is all my other Origin games downloaded and installed just fine. I have been trying this all evening yesterday and was unsuccessful :(.

When I get home tonight I will try the above and update Air/check my time as well and running as Admin.
 
Has anyone else been trying to map the Mouse Wheel to something other than "cycle through all yer shit"? In BFBC2 I used X-Mouse Button Control so that WheelUp selected sidearm and WheelDown selected primary weapon but XMBC doesn't work with BF3 (yes, I tried running XMBC as Admin). It seems like the simulated key presses are too quick and don't register with BF3.

Anyways, I think I got it working using an AutoHotKey script but I need to do more testing. Script looks like this:

WheelUp::
Send {2 down}
Sleep 20
Send {2 up}
return

WheelDown::
Send {1 down}
Sleep 20
Send {1 up}
return

Any other solutions out there? Hopefully DICE adds the ability to re-assign the mouse wheel in a future patch.
 
Can anyone map the keys on their mouse? I like to use the side buttons and middle mouse button press but BF3 wasn't having any of it from my G700.
 
cnick79 said:
Can anyone map the keys on their mouse? I like to use the side buttons and middle mouse button press but BF3 wasn't having any of it from my G700.
Click to expand...

I had no issues rebinding to mouse key. Just make sure you click in the mouse column. When i originally tried to map under the first column it didn't work.
 
pookguy88 said:
anyone have any suggestions for a jittery mouse? I'm using a Razr Mamba right now and it is really sensitive even with the sensitivity slider set pretty low..
Click to expand...
I owned one of those and the laser is jittery due to flaky drivers and the twin eye laser.
You will have to find a driver that solves the issue. You can also try turning down the in-game sensitivity.

Druneau said:
When using "repair install" in Origin, I was then stuck in an infinite "Ready to Install" loop.

Meaning that I clicked "install" and it would crunch data for a while, then Origin would return to "Ready to Install"

This is what I was running into. This is what fixed it.

http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1037930213&postcount=3703
Click to expand...

Thanks. Posted to OP.

master noran said:
So what is the recommended CAP profile with the new preview driver?
Click to expand...
The CAP3 may cause stuttering in-game. it's recommended not to use it for now.

cnick79 said:
Can anyone map the keys on their mouse? I like to use the side buttons and middle mouse button press but BF3 wasn't having any of it from my G700.
Click to expand...
I have a G700. Set the mouse to Game Mode in Logtech's Devices Settings for the G700. Map the side button keys to "Generic Button 1-5".
Also the the above oerson said, make sure you click in the mouse column.


thesixth said:
Still getting "kicked my admin errors" despite all the fixes.
Click to expand...

You many need to open up your Ports to allow the servers to communicate with your PC.

Try this first, then the Port fix:

Select Campaign in Battlelog
Start Singleplayer
Wait for Intro
In the start menu select Options
Select Gameplay
At the bottom of the list, set "Allow PunkBuster" to Yes.
Exit
Start Multiplayer

http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf3/news/view/2832654773849669037/
 
Last edited:
For the "kicked by admin" that's when I did the "Repair install" then got stuck in the loop. But it did fix my "kicked by admin" issues. I guess that 48mb patch is important.
 
thesixth said:
Also some talk about Caspian Border causing "kicked by admin" issues.

Another possible fix for PB issues.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p-XDT9Q37c
Click to expand...

I will condense what the user said without the annoyance.

Select Campaign in Battlelog
Start Singleplayer
Wait for Intro
In the start menu select Options
Select Gameplay
At the bottom of the list, set "Allow PunkBuster" to Yes.
Exit
Start Multiplayer
 
Okay I fixed the Kicked By Admin issue. Here is the basic rundown.

go to C:\Users\[insert your username]\AppData\Local\PunkBuster\BF3

There should be a PB folder, copy over all your PB files from you BF3 folder under origin games and also DL the latest stuff off of evenbalance to replace those files in BOTH folders.

Seems to work for me. Now to fix crashing to desktop...

Such a fail launch, game is great, but the rest of it is shit. Never again.
 
btb103 said:
I wasn't able to either, MX518 here.
Click to expand...

Make sure that you are clicking in the correct column under the bindings tab.

There are 3 columns for binds, one is for the keyboard, one is for the mouse, and one for the joysticks/gamepads.

Report back.
 
My $0.02...

Battlelog > Edit profile

bf3-annoying-battlelog.jpg
 
Key binding is still broke.

I had sooo many issues trying to re-bind my XBOX360 wireless joystick. The axis would be mapped backwards... Or forward/reverse would work but not the opposite direction... Even better. at some point new button choice appeared and instead of having a name like "WALK Forward" or similar, it was some weird gibberish.

I'll have to take a screenshot later.
 
NEODARK said:
Key binding is still broke.

I had sooo many issues trying to re-bind my XBOX360 wireless joystick. The axis would be mapped backwards... Or forward/reverse would work but not the opposite direction... Even better. at some point new button choice appeared and instead of having a name like "WALK Forward" or similar, it was some weird gibberish.

I'll have to take a screenshot later.
Click to expand...

It's the same using keyboard and mouse. DICE needs to only allow the Normal/Vertical Fly setting to affect the Y-axis, but currently it affects both the Y and X axis.
Because of this I can only fly Jets, I crash helos when I start to evade enemy fire.
 
cnick79 said:
Can anyone map the keys on their mouse? I like to use the side buttons and middle mouse button press but BF3 wasn't having any of it from my G700.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried mapping buttons through the game myself (I have this same awesome mouse), but my Battlefield profile that I created works perfectly. I have mapped prone, crouch, sprint, comm rose, and knife to various buttons. The main advantage of this mouse IMO is using the profiling software.

My x-45 joystick and Logitech gamepad, on the other hand, don't seem mappable with this game. They need to fix this so I can fly with my joystick. Unless I can figure out how to map a good profile for them.
 
Intel_Hydralisk said:
We were both using chrome and then switched to IE to see if that worked... updated IE and its flash plugin as well. Nothing worked. It might have something to do with his router is my guess.
Click to expand...

have your friend make sure he has UPNP port forwarding enabled on his router, see if that helps. it sounds to me like something is being blocked which is needed to trigger the game join. could even be a firewall issue as well if hes using the windows firewall or third party firewall.
 
I hope Dice/nvidia/ati are well aware of the stuttering issue. My sound card (auzentech prelude) causes hardware interrupts of 5-9% cpu usage idle. When I have hyperthreading enabled for whatever reason the cpu usage is lower at about 3-6%.

I love my prelude, but it annoys the crap out of me that it constantly steals cpu cycles.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top