Battlefield 3 - Official Thread

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Yeah, you open the server browser (Battlelog) in Firefox or w/e and just join whatever server, and it automatically launches the game.

I thought it was pretty good, no need to launch the game until you're actually joining a server.
 
And no way to change servers without exiting the game first. Also, firefox + origin are a pretty large memory footprint to have sitting in the background effectively doing nothing whilst playing the game.
 
You might want to wait for beta or final version before concluding that you have to exit the game to switch servers. I mean the alpha didn't even have a main menu, all you could do was exit to windows.
 
defiant007 said:
And no way to change servers without exiting the game first. Also, firefox + origin are a pretty large memory footprint to have sitting in the background effectively doing nothing whilst playing the game.
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I never got close to maxing out RAM in the alpha.
 
Very happy to hear they are sticking to Battlelog.

It's the feature I loved the most from the alpha.

for me, "quitting the game to change server" is not an issue when It launches back automatically into the level I want to play. i.e. from a number of click pov it doesn't change much. I guess from a "loading" perspective there might be a difference, but that would probably depend more on how it's done.
 
AceCR42 said:
You might want to wait for beta or final version before concluding that you have to exit the game to switch servers. I mean the alpha didn't even have a main menu, all you could do was exit to windows.
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The whole thing I find bizarre, if you can switch servers in-game then surely there would have to be an in-game browser. Same goes for when you are playing SP and feel like having a game of MP.....are we expected to exit the game just to start it up again for MP?

Kertz's comments suggest there is no in-game browser whatsoever.
 
AceCR42 said:
Yeah, you open the server browser (Battlelog) in Firefox or w/e and just join whatever server, and it automatically launches the game.

I thought it was pretty good, no need to launch the game until you're actually joining a server.
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I guess I can assume that it won't work with Opera.
 
They might just replace the current in-game methods of viewing servers and your own stats with an in-game version of Battlelog...rather than having BF3 be operated by an external program/browser/bloatware altogether.
 
himmy said:
I never got close to maxing out RAM in the alpha.
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The Alpha was a cut down version with smaller textures and substantially less physics. Who knows how much more RAM it will consume for the full version, and whether people on low end machines are going to suffer as a result.

In any event I don't understand why anyone would condone another means by which EA/DICE can effectively control how and when you can play a game you have paid for.
 
Plague_Injected said:
They might just replace the current in-game methods of viewing servers and your own stats with an in-game version of Battlelog...rather than having BF3 be operated by an external program/browser/bloatware altogether.
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Im fine with that, it means that we are not reliant on EA/DICE for ensuring that they the maintain the UI portal to accessing MP. However, my fear is the implication from Kertz that no such in-game UI exists. I guess we will see when the beta comes around.
 
Druneau said:
The battlelog website did have the SP button side by side with the MP button.
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I recall that, but again everyone dismissed it as a byproduct of the alpha and that there would surely be a conventional in-game menu.

At this stage I would not be surprised if we were hit with a new form of DRM that requires you to login into battlelog before you can play SP.
 
I guess I'm already a member of the gun club so no pre-order coupon for me :(

If I pre-order from any other vendor, does it include Physical Warfare pack + Play4Free Items as well? Or is that only through EA?
 
Honestly, the BF3 Alpha loaded a ton quicker then any other BF game ive played in the franchise so having to work from a browser intially is no big deal to me...hell it loads faster then BFPlay4Free. Battlelog is gonna be a success imo. The Alpha iteration of it was very nicely finished and had a logical easy to follow layout. The server browser part of it, as with all DICE server browsers DO need work though and im sure they're working it now. The benefit to the battlelog layout vs ingame layout is that any updates can be done without having to build a patch to the main build. Imagine how much easier that makes it for all. The downside though is yes, there is a possibly larger memory footprint (we dont know the memory footprint of the intergrated server browsers of the past) and the potential that youll have to quit out of the game to join another server/play SP, though again, the alpha loaded hella quick.

I came away from the Alpha with a pretty optimistic view of what the game will be with just a few minor-ish gripes (3D Spotting is OFF, players vs. enviroment too blendy).
 
I'm hoping they include bots and "Instant Action" in BF3...I'm tired of dealing with shitty internet and even more shitty people every time I just want to play the MP modes.
 
I'm hoping they can add stuff to battlelog. I'd really like more filtering options or even custom filter presets. Since they are making us login they should have no issues making that available.

Also with battlelog being a website, if I see a friend is playing and I can see the server he's on (plus all the server's options and info) without launching the game. (i.e. pause movie, look at who's playing what) Then it's 1 click to join a game they are playing. I'll probably end-up joining them more often. Much easier for me then launching BC2 just to see who's playing what.
 
Druneau said:
Also with battlelog being a website, if I see a friend is playing and I can see the server he's on (plus all the server's options and info) without launching the game. (i.e. pause movie, look at who's playing what) Then it's 1 click to join a game they are playing. I'll probably end-up joining them more often. Much easier for me then launching BC2 just to see who's playing what.
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Steam overlay has allowed you to do that for MANY years, and you didn't even need to be logged into some shitty website.
 
defiant007 said:
Steam overlay has allowed you to do that for MANY years, and you didn't even need to be logged into some shitty website.
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Isn't steam overlay only in game? Not sure what you mean.

what I'm saying is that in my case, I have a web browser open 99% of the time. And I don't have steam open unless I'm playing a game.
 
defiant007 said:
Steam overlay has allowed you to do that for MANY years, and you didn't even need to be logged into some shitty website.
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But you have to be logged into Steam for that. So what's the difference? You have to be logged into something either way.
And what exactly makes Battlelog a "shitty website"? I see everyone else praising it, well, everyone else except the Steam fanboys of course. So... Bitching for the sake of bitching? Nothing new here.
 
Raudulfr said:
But you have to be logged into Steam for that. So what's the difference? You have to be logged into something either way.
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The difference is that steam is unobtrusive and services my needs with respect to ALL games I have installed, whether or not I purchased them from steam, not just one god damn single game. It sits in my in-tray, consumes a fifth of the memory compared to Origin, and is used as a communication platform with all my friends irrespective of what game they are playing.

Raudulfr said:
And what exactly makes Battlelog a "shitty website"? I see everyone else praising it, well, everyone else except the Steam fanboys of course. So... Bitching for the sake of bitching? Nothing new here.
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Well for the social networking enthusiasts battlelog is the best thing since sliced cheese, I personally don't give a shit about the fad and equally do not need it embedded into the games I play. All the statistical aspects of battlelog were nicely enough incorporated into in-game menus in BC2, or alternatively were available via other stat websites. I did not see one thing in battlelog which justified its existence, other than being another form of control exerted by EA.
 
Druneau said:
Isn't steam overlay only in game? Not sure what you mean.

what I'm saying is that in my case, I have a web browser open 99% of the time. And I don't have steam open unless I'm playing a game.
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Steam overlay will inform you of whenever your friends are online and what games they are playing. Battlelog is really just a half arsed attempt to emulate aspects of steam, I would be more impressed if they had actually integrated into Origin properly given that you HAVE to have it running in the background to play the game, but they could not even get that right.
 
I know what steam overlay does in game. I guess you get the popup when a friend starts a game. Anyways, I understand what you mean, and since I only run steam when I play a game they don't affect me.

I tested BC2 with Origin last night and it does not need to be running. Hopefully the BF3 alpha requiring origin was just added security on their part and once the full game ships it will be different. (I don't remember reading if EA said it would be required)
 
Savoy said:
Who here is such a steam fanboy that they just can't bear to buy the any game any other way that they would cut off their nose to spite their face? Steam is nice but it doesn't dictate my wallet or how/where/when I buy or play games. Getting the game after it launches does me no good. Pass.
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It's not that we're so obsessed with steam that we won't have it any other way. It's the fact that Steam has made everything so much easier, and it's a single location for my game collection. It's like if you had to download more than one music player on your computer so you could listen to certain albums from certain recording studios. I don't want to have to worry about installing more software to play the game when the system I have now works perfectly fine. Plus, it's more software running in the background, more hassle, and less simplicity. It's just one more account to have to remember, and more software to install on each new computer.

I just think it's a backward step for PC gaming. The effort of the cloud is to have a centralized location for data, and I just think EA creating their own system, that is clearly never going to be a replacement for steam is just making everyone's lives a lot more difficult. It makes people less likely to become PC gamers when they need more software to install, and a, lets be honest, steeper "learning curve" to be in the "know" when it comes to the right software that is needed to be installed to just play a game.
 
Been almost 24hrs and no email from my fresh new EA Gun Club sign up.

I'll keep you guys posted. Anyone else sign up yesterday?
 
Ladies and Gents, please remember, you have to buy the Return to Karkand expansion if you didn't pre-order the game (for everyone waiting for a Steam release).
 
Actually, you dont need Origin running to get onto Battlelog so there is nothing else that NEEDS to be running but a webpage to check out servers and whatnot. You can (could in alpha) log-in to battlelog first and look around, start a game up and it would initiate origin and then launch the game from there. Also, though seemed pretty bugged with the Alpha, I would get a flash of press alt-F1 for the origin overlay. So, like Steam, Origin does have an overlay as well. Did I check it out, no...is it as finished as Steam, probably not but it does appear to offer the same kind of functionality as Steam...just without the library.

I understand the...laziness of not wanting to open another program to launch a game when they're all on steam...I mean, 2-3 clicks to shutdown steam and startup origin or vice versa is a bit rediculous. :rolleyes:
No but really, I DO understand wanting to have everything in one place, it would be nice if it was on Steam, I even held out preordering until last night waiting for it to pop up on Steam for the convience of a one stop shop for all my games without worry of them disappearing (HL and CS can still be DL'ed for christ's sake). But come on, if your worried about the memory footprint of Origin and a web browser (about 120MB it looks like; 50 IE, 70 Origin) then you should probably be working on upping your RAM since the game alone is gonna see 120MB as a drop in a very large bucket. I mean, Bill Gates WAS wrong when he said 640kb is all we'll need :D .
 
RangerXML said:
Ladies and Gents, please remember, you have to buy the Return to Karkand expansion if you didn't pre-order the game (for everyone waiting for a Steam release).
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Why the fuck are there expansions!? The fucking games not even out yet! This day 1 DLC is bullshit. They can kindly go fuck themselves, I'll not participate this. Enough is enough.
 
TheToE! said:
Why the fuck are there expansions!? The fucking games not even out yet! This day 1 DLC is bullshit. They can kindly go fuck themselves, I'll not participate this. Enough is enough.
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The Return to Karkand isn't day one, comes out within 30 days of launch (Karkand, Wake, Mushtaar and Oman; along with BF2 themed weapons) and now the Physical Warfare pack (basically a couple of extra guns), which is day 1, is included with Origin pre-order along with BETA access.
 
You're fooling yourself if you think they couldnt have that ready to go on Day 1. These days companies plan out release schedules for DLC to extend the product lifespan and make the most money possible.

Remember when the games came first and while profits were always the end goal, they wouldnt put the gamer 2nd?
I remember buying expansions 6 months down the line that actually felt like they were worth the $15-25 price tag.

Were put into a position now where we dont have a choice, its either buy the game and deal with it or dont buy the game. There dont seem to be other options (Games) to choose from that are just as good only made by companies that actually care.
 
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