NeXus LAN

Hi everyone. Dave Peeples said this would be a good discussion topic/post for these forums, so as my introduction and first post, here goes.

Just downloaded the FOUR GIGABYTE (4GB!!!) Open Beta. I've already encountered so many problems and issues, it's hard to think that this game comes out next month.
 
1. It forces you to run Origin, EA's version of Steam. The problem with this is it's not nearly as useful as Steam, it merely serves as a storefront, at least for BF3. Right now, it's using 102MB of system memory just running in the background, about half of Steam, but surprising considering how little it does in comparison.
 
2. When you decide to play and double-click on the game in Origin, it doesn't actually launch the game. It opens Internet Explorer (no way of changing this to a different browser after searching around) to the server browser. Yeah, the server browser isn't built into the game. What's up Gamespy Arcade circa 2001? Ugh. This essentially makes Origin entirely pointless, because I simply bookmarked the server browser page and put it on my Bookmarks Bar in Chrome. So it just sits there in the BG, collecting data and using memory. NEAT.
 
3. The server browser itself is god-awful and UGLY. Filtering search results doesn't work (probably a Beta issue), and matchmaking doesn't work. Oh hey, this server is 18/32, I'll join it--NOPE SERVER FULL. WTF? Please EA, give us an ingame server browser back.
 
4. Upon boot, it defaults to a windowed mode. Once in game, I decide to mess with my settings such as graphics, audio, video, etc. Keybindings are wonky and after changing one, the mouse disappears, forcing me to alt-enter and back to see it again. Graphics are set to "Auto" but I can't run this game for shit. Yes, my video card is 2 years old and I plan to upgrade it someday, but even setting everything to Low, turning off AA, AF, and HSAO, it's still quite graphically intensive and lags quite a lot for me, especially in firefights with lots of smoke particles and lighting.
 
5. For the sake of "realism", they've added quite a few things that I feel detract from the "arcade-sim" type of shooter BF has always been, to more of a legitimate war-sim, which SUCKS. A good example is the addition of flashlights attached to guns. They quite literally fill your vision with LED-type light, completely blinding you. Teammates and enemies alike. COOOOOOOOL. It's too unbalanced, because it's basically a constant flashbang, rendering you totally vulnurable and DEAD.
 
6. After playing a 20 minute Rush match, we finally set the charge for the final MCOM station and the siren hits the last stage signalling it's about to explode. SERVER TIMED OUT BACK TO THE DESKTOP YOU GO! God damnit. Now, in BC2, if you decide to leave a game, or the server times out, you don't get penalized for whatever advancements or levels you earned, it will still update your stats. Not BF3. I had leveled up twice by playing support, and was in 2nd place on my team. All gone. Still at level 0, like I had never played at all.
 
So, I probably won't be buying this game, at least not until they actually listen to the feedback their whole community has been giving them. I was willing to run Origin (even though my entire library is on Steam), I was going to eventually upgrade my hardware, but for what? The multiplayer game is SHIT. It's like Crysis 1, just use it for system benchmarks, but don't expect any substance.
 
I'll see you guys in BF: Bad Company 2.

I haven't tried it myself yet but, I trust Rhythmatic's judgement on a lot of things. I'm preparing to be underwhelmed.

Earlier I managed to play through a whole round of rush, and noticed another change that I'm none too happy about. It seems that outdoors, they've added this "glint" or lensflare effect on scopes, so snipers are incredibly easy to spot. I'm actually not sure if this is limited to just snipers, or anyone who has a scope. I am seeing a LOT of complaints on this new "feature", so I figured it's worth mentioning.

Also, you know how in BC2 when the round is over and it's loading the next game, you can see your level progression and various pins, all at once? Well BF3 has an incredibly dramatic, Call of Duty-style section showing you EACH. AND. EVERY. DETAIL, with a ridiculous metal-synth SMASH FUCK YEAH VIDEO GAMES RAAAAAAAH effect for each item and notable thing you've earned, and no way of skipping it.

Once you finish a round, say you don't want to play another, right? In BC2, you did have to wait for the "join" option to show before hitting "exit game" to back out. Not in BF3. You actually have to join, and deploy. Then hit ESC and exit game. OH BOY!

From what I have see and been told that glint is people turning on flashlights.   And those flashlights are acting like perm flashbangs when shined direct into someones eyes, even in an outdoor day light map.   

I am far from impressed as well.  I played the first night after it was open for early beta access.  After seeing my medic bag smash down a wall and leaving me vulnerable and dying a second later from someone clear across the map, I was like hmm.....that needs a fix.

Then I am running across the field of battle where it feels like someone is burning my retina with a laser pointer only to find out it is the flashlight on their rifle; and as Renegade mentioned, this was outdoors in daylight.

Next, I am laying prone.  Looking down the barrel of my gun, trying to get a bead on the enemy.  Not moving.....or am I?  Not touching my keyboard or mouse, my character in the game was slowly sliding to the left even though I was trying to lay completely still.  What is that all about?

Then, I am running toward my goal to blow crap up.  I find a good spot to temporarily hide myself.  I go prone.  But wait....I sink through the graphics and now am in some non-pixel realted dungeon seeing partial gameplay above me with nowhere to go and not able to move.  ESC > Suicide.....my only option to get back in the game.  This happens 6 or 7 times during the match.

Oh, here is a fun one.  When the game starts, it automatically goes to a windowed mode.  I ALT-ENTER to get to the non-windowed, full size playfield.  The round ends and the game automatically drops back to a windowed mode.  Plus in the windowed mode, I can't even get to my options menu to do anything else.  

I can honestly say, I am completely loosing interest in this game and don't think I will be spending my $60 to play it.  EA, please figure out a way of cancelling your order through Origin (which you cannot at this time) instead of having to email customer service or call customer service.

I was just trying to figure out too....how do the console people get their server list.  I am sure they don't have to put up with a web browser based POS system.

Oh yeah, and did I forget to mention that the video gameplay looks NO BETTER than Bad Company 2?  Surprise, EA showed all the outstanding video from their single player mode that had the fantastic graphics, but failed to mention that they were not putting those graphics in the multi-based portion of the game.  Wo, that was a winner of a choice.

Goodbye Battlefield 3 and hello Call of  Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Well sadly I have canceled my pre-order for BF3.   Had high hopes and its not a BF2 sequal, they might as well called it BF BC3. 

I know this is a beta but when you go into an open beta people expect more.  I can deal with the glitches etc, but the game play, flashlights, web page to launch game etc.  It all adds up to a game I simply do not want to put 60.00 into.   Let alone that origin SUCKS ASS.

I will sadly still have to deal with origin as I am going to be playing Star Wars an no choice but BF3 not going to do it.

I did hear a rumor that sometime after launch they are going to put out a steam version of BF3 once they have hooked all the others into buying thru origin.

Maybe I will snag it on a sale on steam someday but today it looks like I will be getting MW3 and not BF3 as my new shooter to play.

One thing to remember though is that this is a beta. But with that said, if there are still so many bugs how are they going to make their release date?  Maybe it will be pushed back. What is odd though is from what I hear the alpha was better than the beta. I'll be playing today/night and will post my thoughts.

I have it downloaded but haven't played yet.  I heard the negative reviews here and wasn't too excited about playing.  But, the guys over at TC say they love it and and that's all they have been playing lately.  So, guess I will have to try it out for myself.

Yikes, that's sad to hear. The trailers I saw a month or two ago looked pretty impressive. That's too bad.

Predictable, though. DICE has been shooting themselves in the foot with each new release now for the last 3 years.

They have this funny habit of giving the middle finger to the pc gaming community that buy their games and offer them any feedback.  That kind of attitude/behavior catches up with you at some point.

I actually like the game.  There are some bugs in the game that are a little annoying, but it is a beta and they'll probably be fixed in the release.  I wouldn't cancel a preorder just because of some bugs in the beta. 

Yeah after playing the game quite a bit tonight, I like it.  The graphics are  better than Bad Company 2 but mainly in the lighting, etc effects. 

They obviously need to work out some bugs, but it is not as bad as I thought and I will be purchasing the game.

I'm not so sure people should be giving it the "it's just a Beta" excuse. Folks, this game releases on the 25th. If anything, the Beta is focusing on issues like network stability and such. I feel like the glaring problems we're seeing with the game mechanics are going to have to be fixed via patches.

Last night I experienced a MAJOR problem involving a BSOD and subsequent frustration trying to figure out the problem. I think BF3 killed my video card. Rather, I think the updated "preview" drivers did it. I suppose it's partially my fault, because I didn't notice that the ATI version was intended only for 5xxx and up cards. Mine is a 4850 and had been running fine, but from what I gather is that it overheated. I'm currently running on a backup GeForce 8800GTX (  :'( ) and the 285 drivers they released list that the 8 series is in fact supported. Haven't attempted running BF3 yet to see if it will even compare. MC Disease might sell me his, (5970? I can't recall. 5870?) so there's hope yet. What's insane is that his card is AMD's 3rd fastest card out right now. The recommended specs for this game are bananas.

MW3 is looking more and more appealing by the minute...

I have not played it, but I know a few close friend who think its going to be awesome if they realease some bigger maps at launch.  You guys are scaring me though...I was not a fan of BC2, but I love BF2.

Thats my main huge issue denied is that is feels like a sequal to BC2 and not a sequal to BF2.   It also has alot of things that make it feel like MoH as well.   Both games I was not fond of.

I canceled my pre-order.  I am tired of getting burnt on games via pre-order.  If it turns out great and all then I will consider getting it later on after launch when they release it via steam.   I would much rather have the game in steam then in origin anyway.   More I look at origin more I hate that they are making games exclusive to it at launch, but there have been reports that exclusives will go to steam sometime after launch.   I would assume they want as many as they can to get it in origin, but they will then add it to steam to catch the hold outs that would not buy thru origin.   Makes good sense when you think about it really.

For now I am sticking with MW3 since it has LAN servers etc and thats going to be the LAN game for a while as nothing else on the horizon that I am aware of that will have local servers that is a shooter.

So I am saying I am not 100% against BF3 but I am not happy with what I see right now and I am not really talking about bugs, yeah I see alot but those will be fixed.   I am talking about game play, the web page launch, not being able to open menus when dead, cant leave game till you deploy, if in a menu an you get killed it kicks you out of the menus, and feeling like a BC2 sequal.  All that put together just makes me not want to put out top $ for the game right now.

Hey, remember how buggy BF 2042 was when if first launched? It was total crapola. I remember a few times falling thru the ship while defending the central chamber. I guess since BF3 is beta that the powers that be will deploy many fixes over time. If not then they got a friggin' HUGE mess on their hands.

Renegade, what did you do to cancel your pre-order? I want to do the same as I can't see spending any cash on this right now.

I went into origin then clicked on live support an waited for an op.  They wanted order # address date ordered.  Took like 24 hours to get refunded to bank account after that.

Reposted from VE3D.com

"DICE Threatens To Ban Players Joining Modded Servers In Battlefield 3

Following the Battlefield 3 server files leaking, numerous servers have popped up with various alterations, including the ability to house 100+ players on the 32-player capped Metro map.
 
In response to this, DICE have made a post on their forum threatening that anybody joining modded servers risks being banned from Origin entirely, which means - as he takes pains to point out in a second post - you will be banned from playing every game on your EA account."

LOL, so if you go into a modded server not knowing you could lose your EA/Origin account for life.   Ah yeah another reason to be worried about this game.
 

Just don't play on modded servers. :)  I didn't read the article, but if you read the entire release, it's because they are cutting down on the hacking from the start, which is a good thing. 

Yeah, I have to agree. Couple other friends of mine were also extremely disappointed.
The beta drivers that were recommended (285.38) actually screwed up quite a bit in other games, and actually didn't fix any of the graphical flashing/flickering on screen.
Other games, after playing 30 mins - 1 hour, just seemed to take a huge frames per second dump. Meaning, my FPS would drop from the normal 60+ to 5-9 with occasional freezing.
This was on a GTX 570.

I also hate this new "Origin" program. The multiplayer functions should be built in-game, not in a separate web browser. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a counter against piracy.


Yeah, MW3 and Skyrim are next on my list.

Easier said then done on the just dont play on modded servers because the modded ones are seen in the server browser as legit and i can an has auto assigned people to them via quick match button.

So yeah people could get banned for going to a modded server an they didnt do it on purpose.

Another reason not to get this game!

https://twitter.com/#!/zh1nt0/status/120072134226751488 (https://twitter.com/#!/zh1nt0/status/120072134226751488)

@zh1nt0 aka Daniel Matros: "Voice chat and squadding will be on the battlelog side of things"

http://n4g.com/news/855904/dice-squads-are-only-ac...og-no-squad-management-in-game (http://n4g.com/news/855904/dice-squads-are-only-ac...og-no-squad-management-in-game)

"According to the Battlefield 3 community manager, zh1nt0, the squads can only be managed on Battlelog and not in the actual game.
This means you can no longer create squads/make private squads while in game. You can only join or leave squads.
Hundreds of Battlefield fans are dissapointed and many are cancelling their PC pre-orders right now. Nothing is yet confirmed on how consoles will work. "

Modern Warfare 3, here I come!

I know it is like that in the beta, but do you know if it is supposed to be like that in the release?  If so, that will be a disappointment as it is one of the things that made Battlefield great.

When I read this about the squads I went looking and its been that was since alpha, now in beta, and from what I could find there are no plans to change it from the way it is now.

Horrible direction by Dice on that one.

LoL, the whole play on a hacked server get banned made MSNBC Tech section today.

http://ingame.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/03/8124176-battlefield-3-hack-could-get-you-banned

ok well after reading everything you guys have posted about the game and so forth makes no difference to me i'll still be purchaseing this game for sure.  i've played the beta for many hours and have been kicking ass at it. i now there are isues with the game thats why they call it a beta.  after playing all the bf games i myself think this one rules them all and cant wait to drive and fly the vehicles in the reaol game.  many of the TC players have gotten to do so before they took the servers down and have said its awesome and so after playing with them for sometime trust there judgement and am keeping my copy of the game for sure.  havent been dissappointed by bf yet and don't beleive i will now.

I canceled my pre-order today.

Ron,  pretty much seems like either you like the game or you dont, and right now I just do not like it enough to sink 65 into it.    And I can always buy it after launch if I find its better and I want to play it, but frankly it plays too much like BC2 for me to like the game as I didnt like BC2 that much.   

I am going to stick with MW3 this time around I think for now.   Course if BF3 comes to Steam an they put it on sale then yeah I am sure I will grab it at some point, as I hear it will come out on steam a short time after launch.

I dunno, I still like BF 2142 even though noone plays it anymore.  I just like the futuristic theme and loved the ship battles.

I am with Ron on this.  I think the game is pretty good even with the "BETA" bugs. :) But yeah if you did not like Bad Company 2 then your not going to like this but I definitely do not get how BF:Bad Company 2 is not like BF2... the only difference is no commander mode.  But other than that BF3 and Bad Company 2 plays just like BF2 to me and in fact better... or actually more like BF2142.

To me Bad Company 2 is an improved BF2 and BF3 is an improved Bad Company 2 game play wise.  A win-win. The only thing that I do not like is from what I read about not being able to setup or join a specific squad in game.  That is just plain silly to me and I see an easy fix in a patch or something.

Im in wait and see mode now. If after launch the game is polished and much better than people fear, I will get it at some point. I agree Renegade, if it comes to Steam then I will get it there.

Uhhh...Homefront anyone? LOL.

DICE has a proven track record of disregarding their forum communities' feedback and response. When a group of developers behaves that way, I could care less how "playable" or "fun" the game is..they're not getting my money.

I already made that mistake once...BFBC2...doh!!! (smacks forehead)

well if you like to beat one game into the dirt like mw3 will be then go ahead myself i like options so i can jump back and forth between the two and not beat them into the dirt nearly as fast.  both games won't mean shit though once star wars is released in december anyhow, i will disappear for at least 6 months playing that game and only occasionly play bf and mw3 here and there.

Haha me too.

I am right there with the both of you on the Star Wars front.  White Christmas?  What?  My light saber is not white!!!  Is it day or night out?

OK so I have to say that with getting to play Caspian Border the game is WAY different and alot more of what I expected to see.

I have seen that they have changed the way squads work, and several other issues I had with the beta.

As for the web page launch I still hate that but that is staying from what I have heard an read.

So I am more likely to get the game now then I was 2 weeks ago.

The game rocks and I am not kidding even with the beta bugs, though surprisingly enough not as many in the Caspian map.  That map is exactly why this is a battlefield game.  I have NEVER and I mean NEVER played a game so realistic as Battlefield 3 at least the big maps. 

Also I highly recommend if you have an nVidia card to go ahead and install the beta drivers.  It was almost like night and day with them when it comes to BF3 graphics and performance.

I am still not convinced on BF3.  I will wait and see and maybe get it.  But I will be getting MW3.

I hear ya Jeff, I am not 100% but I am more liking now that I played the new 64 player map.    I dont think I will be one that plays it alot more likely to play it at lans etc, but I will play more mw3 until SW comes out.  Soon as SW is out I will be playing that pretty much only, with some mw3 when I wanna frag some people.

Crashgirl and I will be definitely purchasing BF3.  We had a lot of fun in the beta even with the bugs an quirks.

I guess I'm with Action on this one.  I had a lot of fun with Battlefield 3 during the BETA.  That includes both the Rush and Conquest modes.  

They apparently were changing and improving stuff before and after rather quickly.  I noticed a lot of the things described on the first page were not how they were when I got to play the game during the Open Beta.  I could launch the game from any browser.  I never even tried launching the game from Origin.  I always launched it from Battlelog via Firefox.  I also could close the game at any point by just simply "X-ing" out of it, or closing it via Battlelog.

I also had my stats save mid-games even if we had a crash.  Even if we had a server disconnect and some of my stats didn't get recorded, I would have probably more quickly assumed that this was due to the fact that it's, well... a BETA, and not that it's going to be that way in the final game.  Which it doesn't appear to be.

Some of the stuff they've reported on changing from this point on also sound good.  Squads are reportedly going to be more like the original Battlefield games upon release, being able to more easily stick with your friends.  As well as options for menus and settings prior to actually deploying.

Don't get me wrong from the "tone" of my post.  I definitely don't approve of this experimental browser-launching nonsense.  Especially on a game that I want to be devoting all my computer's resources to (durring the single player definitely), and it's forcing me to have so much extra running in the background.  I LIKE Battlelog, a Facebook-esque site for gamers that constantly records everything.  I just really hate how they're making the game's launch and settings based around it.  It's quite strange to say the least.

Either way, I'll definitely be picking this up, as well as Modern Warfare 3.

I LOVE the game, but would have been disappointed had they not put squad management in the release.  However, it's been implied that squad will be similar to it's predecessor once the game is released -- yay!  The bigger maps are awesome.  I suck at flying, but LOVE the tanks.   Can't wait!!!  

I too was pretty iffy with the web based battle log, but I understand the reasoning and have now started to like it.  This gives them the ability to update it without having to send out major patches to the game itself.  I see a lot of future games following suit.  I do recommend to go ahead and use IE for this as even when IE is closed it still uses resources because a lot of the OS uses core IE.  No need to use even more resources and load a 3rd party broswer for the game.

Origin is a joke right now but that should not be used against DICE or BF3.  That is an EA thing.  I want to play this game the day it comes out but yes I would rather have a steam version.  I am waiting to pre-order to see if an agreement is made and it will come out on steam day one.

This all sounds good to me, especially the squad stuff!  .....


Battlefield 3 Beta Interview
 By Bennett Ring | Oct 11, 2011
 Developer talks VOIP, bullet damage, squad control, and more.
 Who better to speak to about the issues arising from the recent Battlefield 3 beta than the game's Lead Multiplayer Designer, Lars Gustavsson. After pumping dozens of hours into the beta we had plenty of questions for him during yesterday's Australian Battlefield 3 event. Where's the VOIP and joystick support? Will bullet damage be altered? Can we set up our own squads? Why are jet campers such douchebags? Lars answered all of these, and more.
 

GameSpy: The beta didn't work well with joysticks or control pads. What level of support for these devices will the game ship with? Will pilots be able to fly with a stick or pad?
 
Lars: It's something we're looking into. It looks like we will be able to ship with joystick support, but I've been on the road for quite some time so I can't guarantee it. But yes, if it doesn't turn up at launch, it will definitely be a high priority as soon as possible after shipping. The work being done to support joysticks is more or less the same as control pads, if you get one, you get the other. It's something we're aware of now that we've brought back the jets. It's on the list.



GameSpy: The beta didn't support in-game VOIP; players had to form a party through battlelog to be able to chat just to their party. Will Battlefield 3 include in-game VOIP – be it squad or team based – at launch?
 
Lars: No, on PC this (battlelog) is what we're going to ship with. Then we're going to evaluate how we move forward with this. It's something we've heard from the community, it's something we understand. At the same time, building a game of this size, you can't win all of the battles. The convenience of going in with friends with your party VOIP channel and keep it even after the game, is definitely a strength. That's just the start – we can definitely evolve from there down the road.


GameSpy: We've heard there's going to be a command rose at launch for PC. Is that still going to be ready for launch? What sort of functionality might it include?
 
Lars: It is on our list for trying to get in there at launch. It is the usual things that you can really miss on the battlefield. Bail out is a typical one; you're sitting in a helicopter and you realize that you want to attack the flag, and there's no way to tell you're buddy that you're going to bail out.


GameSpy: What about ammo, medpacks, that sort of stuff?
 
Lars: We have the context system today, but it was buggy in the open beta. We've been hammering it to get it right.


GameSpy: There's been some feedback that some people found bullet damage too strong in the beta. Any plans to tweak it?
 "...a lot of the issues that people have raised have already been fixed."
 
Lars: We've done a lot of tweaking and tuning, everyone needs to understand that the beta was early code. Everything from hit detection to damage, flashlights that people have been mentioning – a lot of the issues that people have raised have already been fixed.


GameSpy: Are you toning the flashlights down a bit?
 
Lars: Yeah, they should be much better at release.


GameSpy: What level of squad control will the release have? In the beta you couldn't form a squad, join a specific squad or lock a squad so it's just you and friends – will the final release be different?
 
Lars: At release you'll be able to invite friends, join squads, all the stuff that you need to be able to play with your friends. Getting into the server and seeing your friend, but not being able to play with them, is nothing but frustrating.


GameSpy: A lot of the oldschool, hardcore Battlefield players are asking for an advanced flight model option for choppers and jets – any chance you'll consider this requests?
 
Lars: For now we're leaving them the way they are, and will let the game live for a little while, then start the communication with the community to see where we stand.

GameSpy: The PC version looks quite different to the console versions. Do you think there will be any critical backlash from console gamers? Most of the marketing material is very PC focused, so they might be expecting something different to what they end up getting?
 
Lars: I don't think so. Most gamers do realize that the consoles are five years old, and if someone buys new SLI cards for their monster PC, there will be something extra for the PC. If we kept everything on console level for those PC players, then they would rightfully strangle us! I do think we have managed to push the boundaries of the consoles to a level where I feel we've passed the competition. That's all you can ask out of the team at this point.


GameSpy: Do you think building for PC first and foremost will give DICE a headstart when it comes to developing an engine for the next gen consoles? You'll be adept at multicore, multi-GPU and DirectX 11, where many other companies won't?
 
Lars: The main focus has been to build a game. Of course we have the technical thinking behind it, but we've been leading with console for quite some time now and it was time to turn it around to refresh all of our knowledge on previous titles. But yeah, the Frostbite 2.0 engine has been built to – as far as we possibly can – prepare for a modular approach to whatever may come in the future.
 
GameSpy: Do you think it will give you an advantage over other developers who are sticking with the old hardware?
 
Lars: We hope so. I think it's been a very mature move from Dice to invest in this new engine that allows us to keep on cramming more stuff out of these machines, otherwise we start to stall. I also think that's something that, to me, sticks out with Battlefield 3. It is a fresh take on an otherwise quite stale shooter market. We're trying to do a lot of things that no one has done before. Animation has stayed the same for ages, now we've revolutionized animation in shooters. We keep on pushing the boundaries for scale, for destruction.


"It's really gold for us to get this insight from the community."
 GameSpy: What's the biggest lesson you got from the beta – were there any breakthroughs, or a collection of smaller insights?
 
Lars: For us it's validating and solving problems with the backend servers. Validating that it all worked to ensure we have a really good launch. In addition to that getting the audience's eyes on battlelog, having them try it out, even though it's rough code still. It's really gold for us to get this insight from the community. Yes, they're loud sometimes, and very passionate about it, but I'd rather have them loud and passionate than not talking to us at all. So I see that as a sign of investment.


GameSpy: When Bad Company 2 came out there were lots of issues with the server browser for the first few days. Do you think your beta testing will ensure that everything will work well on Day 1? Are you confident of a perfect launch?
 
Lars: That is the intention of course. I am much more confident than before the open beta. It's like when you do a parachute jump – you can only fold your parachute so many times. For every game we get more experienced, and we've definitely done the best we can, far beyond what we've ever done before, to make this a successful launch. Of course, if numbers go totally bananas, there's always areas that you can't predict. If that happens then those are luxury problems.

Hmm, sounds like the first half of the interview is "it's on our list".  I'll continue to wait on this one.

The first couple of questions is mostly dealing with the planes/jets... that doesn't bother me much since I don't fly.  ;D  I am more of a tank girl.

I am just glad they changed how squads will work and fixed some of the bugs with the gun damage, etc.  I'm excited and can't wait for the release, I have been having withdrawals since they shut down the beta, lol

I will admit, the sound of the "fixed" product seems a lot more appealing than what I saw in the beta.  Hopefully the true finished product will be a good game.

Not me, I will be getting this game on day one.  The large map in the beta was fantastic! 64 PLAYERS!  And to top if off the game technically can support up too 256... but 64 was more reasonable.

They totally pulled this off. The retail copy fixed nearly all the issues I had with the beta. I played the beta a few times... ehhhh. Retail is everything I could have wanted and more. There are definitely a few kinks to iron out, but nothing game-breaking that I've seen yet.

So could we get a vote thing to see who all is still for the Game and who all agrees with the title of this thread? I really dont wanna download EA's crap, but i can't say i've really looked into it since i dont have the time right now to play it. Just like to know a short display of data on how everyoen feels about the game now? :-)

Well, I will say, even though I was really critical of the beta (which I still think they botched), the end product is better than what I saw in the beta.  Of course, there are still some improvements that could be made.  However, one BIG thing that kind of bothers me, is that I cancelled my order through Origin by a chat session with one of their "tech's".  I even have the confirmation code of it being cancelled.  Yet I never got a refund, and was sent all the information and playing it as if I had never cancelled.

If I cared about cancelling it so much, I would be pissed.  But since I like the game with it's quirks and all, I will not be as hostile towards the game....just the EA reps for not doing their job correctly.

Oh, just a little sting to them too....I still think the website launching method is crap.

I have to agree that I am not fond of launching the game in a browser.  But, I have to say THE GAME IS AWESOME!!! Love it!

Gave is good, much better then the beta.   The web crap sucks ass, its slow as heck loading into a game, and the matchmaking either never works, or when it does it takes like 5-10 min before it finds a match to play in.   

Solo is eh at best, and Dice admitted they tossed the solo as an after thought more as training levels for the multiplayer then a solo good mission game.

co-op is interesting Cyphis and I played it some, only issue so far is it would disconnect on us while loading but once in no issues, and if a vehicle mission which ever seat your in driver or gunner you stuck to that for the whole mission could not find a way to change seats, but we had fun and you can unlock weapons for the multiplayer game playing the co-op missions.

This game ROCKS.  And I am not just saying that.  I am very impressed by the graphics and I even keep my settings to medium on a GTX580.  And the graphics are still very nice.  My GTX580 can get over 60FPS in auto/Ultra settings but I am a FPS nut so I set it to medium because there is not that big of difference in eye candy and I get over 100FPS 99% of the time.

As you know, I enjoyed the BETA especially when they opened up the larger MAP even with it's quirks.  When the retail came out it I expected some issues but it actually turned out better.  At first I was annoyed by the web based battle log but I am starting to like it.  I understand the reason behind it and see how it can be easily upgraded, etc.  There is quite a lot of info they can give you being web based and that is a plus.

So I highly recommend the game.  It is well worth the cost.  It is by far the most realistic battle game ever.  If it had LAN dedicated servers, it would have no competition.

The only bad thing is Origin.  It really sucks.  Steam blows it completely out of the water.

Origin is the main thing holding me back, that and my old GTX260 video card  ::)

Retail version is awesome. And I'm saying that after playing only 30 minutes of the single player campaign. I cant wait to play some more tonight and then go into some multiplayer with you guys. Yes Steam > Origin, but origin is not that bad. It doesn't really bother me.

What is everyone's user name? I am new to the BF Franchise and wanting to learn from some pro's Mine is Rock8104

in all the game itself is very good but the downfall to the game for me is the fact that the browser issue sucks balls for sure and the constant black and white screen of death that you get every few maps is just annoying. hope they fix this soon before mw3 comes out and this game gets put on a shelf to collect dust. exiting vehicles needs to be fixed as well i mean come on you should be able to pick the side to exit or at least exit you on the other side of the enemy shooting at you cause its instant death the way it is now exiting into the line of fire. my biggest issue though with the game is how you get dropped just trying to load into a game and it can take multiple tries to get into one so freaking annoying.

I don't have the issue with the black/white screen.  I have only locked up once or twice since getting the retail version, but I locked up quite a bit in the beta.  Is your punkbuster up to date, I know that was causing some people problems.

I don't know exactly what it is....but I am just not really excited about the game.  I play it and I am like, ok.  People waste me way too easy, but that's because I am level 6 and they are 23.  Anyway, I could put the game down and not play it and I don't care.  I was not like that with the past games of Battlefield.  I could really take it or loose it on this one.

I think right now I am most looking forward to Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO.  I am playing a lot of Rift now to appease my MMO appetite, but will be playing Modern Warfare 3 when it hits the streets.

Sounds like you just need to play more.  It gets much more fun after around level 10 or so.  By that time you know your main role and have unlocked specific weapons for that role, etc.  Not only do you get new weapons as your level rises, you also get new specific weapons for each role as you level those up.