**OFFICIAL** AT Battlefield 3 FAQ and News Thread

[GullyFoyle]

New Battlefield Bog Post: Battlefield 3 Open Beta Dates Announced!

Sunday, 18 September 2011 23:00

Join the action in the Open Beta on our Operation Métro map! The Open Beta goes live on September 29th.

We are happy to announce that the eagerly awaited Battlefield 3 Open Beta starts Thursday, September 29th!

Running until October 10th, the Battlefield 3 Open Beta is your chance to play the game early, try out our free social platform Battlelog, and help us make the game even better by sending us your valuable feedback.

If you pre-order Battlefield 3 (PC digital download version) on Origin before September 25th, or if you have bought Medal of Honor: Limited Edition/Tier 1 Edition, you will get 48 hours early access to the Beta, meaning you can start playing Tuesday, September 27th. The full details on how you will be granted early acess is available on our new Beta section.

For Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, the Open Beta will be visible on the consoles' digital marketplaces under Battlefield 3. For PC, you need to install Origin and download the Open Beta from within the Origin application.

For all your Open Beta questions and answers, head to our new Beta section at the official Battlefield 3 site. Enjoy the Beta, and let us know what you think!

==================================================

Press Release:

EA INVITES PLAYERS TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL ON SEPTEMBER 29 WITH THE BATTLEFIELD 3 MULTIPLAYER BETA
Advanced Frostbite 2 Engine, All-out Vehicle Warfare, Unrivaled Destruction and True Teamplay Deliver Epic Battles and Award-winning Gameplay in Battlefield 3

Guildford, UK. – September 20, 2011 – DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio(NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that the Battlefield 3™ multiplayer beta will open to all gamers on September 29, 2011. Players from around the world will have a chance to experience the game that industry critics have hailed as the ‘Best Online Multiplayer Game’ before itships on October 28, 2011. The beta is set in Paris on the Operation Metro map, where players work their way from lush parks on the outskirts of the city to a dark, bombed-out metro station, to the vibrant streets around the Paris stock exchange. Two elite tactical units square off in the series’popular Rush Mode. One side takes the offensive by attacking M-COM stations while the opposing squad defends and protects. For more information about the beta, players should visit www.battlefield.com/beta or follow @Battlefield on Twitter.

The Battlefield 3 multiplayer beta will be available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC. Gamers who pre-order the digital PC version of the game at Origin (powered by EA) will be granted early access to the beta starting on September 27, 2011. In addition, all customers that pre-ordered a Limited Edition of Medal of Honor™ will also receive early access to the beta starting on September 27, 2011.

Gamers in the beta can also log onto Battlelog, the game’s free social media network that allows gamers to communicate and compete with friends, track their stats and share their progress. Battlelog extends the in-game experience to be accessible anywhere, whether on a PC, console or handheld device.
Players are also invited to join the EA Gun Club for the latest shooter news, and to receive in-game benefits including access to the M1911 pistol and distinct badges in Battlefield 3. The M1911 pistol will also be available to registered Battlefield veterans.

Battlefield 3 is one the year’s most anticipated games, having won over 50 illustrious awards at all of the gaming industry’s major tradeshows. The game recently earned the coveted “Future Game Award” at the Tokyo Game Show, a prize that follows the honor of “Game of the Show” at GamesCom and “Action Game of the Show” at E3. Lauded by game critics for advancing the state of the art in gaming, Battlefield 3 is the only shooter that can deliver the physicality and emotion of being on the battlefield. It is thanks to the expertise of the development team at DICE and the power of the Frostbite™ 2 engine that Battlefield 3 delivers a massive sense of scale, best-in-class audio, completely destructible environments, hyper-real graphics and animation, and lets gamers pilot a whole range of vehicles from trucks and tanks to choppers and jets. Gamers that pre-order the Battlefield 3 Limited Edition will receive the Back to Karkand post-launch digital expansion pack at no extra charge.* This themed multiplayer pack features four highly celebrated maps from Battlefield 2™, each now boldly re-mastered using Frostbite 2. Completing the package are classic Battlefield 2 weapons and vehicles, unique rewards, new achievements/trophies, and more. Pre-order the Battlefield 3 Limited Edition now at http://store.origin.com/battlefield3.

Battlefield 3 hits retail stores on October 28, 2011 in the UK. For more information on Battlefield 3, please visit www.battlefield.com, and for the latest news on Battlefield please visit http://www.facebook.com/battlefield or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/battlefield.

*Conditions and restrictions apply. See http://store.origin.com/battlefield3 for details.

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company’s game franchises are offered as both packaged goods products and online services delivered through Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 100 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.

In fiscal 2011, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.6 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster franchises such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield, and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at www.eagames.co.uk/press.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile, POGO are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. Battlefield 3, Battlefield 2 and Frostbite are trademarks of EA Digital Illusions CE AB. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

Twitter is a registered trademark of Twitter, Inc. Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

 

[Zargon]

sad we dont get a new map, but excited none the less

 

[Worthington]

I can't decide if I'm excited that they made a game that pushes the graphics envelope by requiring 2 580s for ultra... or that it requires 2 580s for ultra. Lol. A little bit of both really.

Time to get overclocking.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Full Beta FAQ from the Battlefield website:
WHAT ARE THE DATES FOR THE BETA?
THE OPEN BETA STARTS SEPTEMBER 29TH ON XBOX 360, PLAYSTATION 3, AND PC. THOSE THAT HAVE ALREADY PRE-ORDERED THE PC DIGITAL DOWNLOAD VERSION OF BATTLEFIELD 3 THROUGH ORIGIN OR OWN THE LIMITED/TIER 1 EDITION OF MEDAL OF HONOR FOR XBOX 360, PLAYSTATION 3 OR PC, WILL HAVE EARLY ACCESS STARTING ON SEPTEMBER 27TH. THE OPEN BETA ENDS ON OCTOBER 10TH.
WHERE DO I GET THE BETA?
On Playstation 3, the Beta will appear automatically on the Playstation Network Store. On Xbox 360, it will automatically appear on Xbox Live Marketplace. On PC, it will automatically appear in the Origin application's demo page.

HOW DO I INSTALL THE BETA?
ON CONSOLE, YOU SIMPLY DOWNLOAD THE BETA AND PLAY. ON PC, YOU FIRST INSTALL THE ORIGIN CLIENT FOUND ON WWW.ORIGIN.COM/DOWNLOAD AND THEN INSTALL THE BETA FROM WITHIN THE ORIGIN CLIENT. MORE DETAILS WILL BE AVAILABLE HERE BEFORE THE BETA STARTS.
IN WHICH LANGUAGES WILL THE BETA BE AVAILABLE?
The Open Beta and Battlelog will only be available in English, but there will be localized sections on the Battlelog Open Beta forum where you can leave feedback and get your questions answered.
IS ORIGIN REQUIRED TO PLAY THE BETA?
ORIGIN IS NOT REQUIRED TO PLAY ON XBOX 360 OR PLAYSTATION 3. FOR PC, ORIGIN WILL BE USED TO DISTRIBUTE THE BETA INSTALLATION AND run the game and THEREFORE NECESSARY TO PLAY.
WHAT IS ORIGIN?
ORIGIN IS A SERVICE FROM EA WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO EASILY BUY, DOWNLOAD AND PLAY GAMES. YOU CAN FIND THE ENTIRE ORIGIN FAQ BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK.
WHAT IS BATTLELOG?
Battlelog is our free social platform that ties into Battlefield 3 and lets you socialize, track stats, plan your next game, and more.
WHAT ARE THE MINIMUM AND RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR PLAYING ON PC? Minimum System Requirements
OS: WINDOWS VISTA (SERVICE PACK 2) 32-BIT
PROCESSOR: 2 GHZ DUAL CORE (CORE 2 DUO 2.4 GHZ OR ALTHON X2 2.7 GHZ)
MEMORY: 2 GB
HARD DRIVE: 20 GB
GRAPHICS CARD (AMD): DIRECTX 10.1 COMPATIBLE WITH 512 MB RAM (ATI RADEON 3000, 4000, 5000 OR 6000 SERIES, WITH ATI RADEON 3870 OR HIGHER PERFORMANCE)
GRAPHICS CARD (NVIDIA): DIRECTX 10.0 COMPATIBLE WITH 512 MB RAM (NVIDIA GEFORCE 8, 9, 200, 300, 400 OR 500 SERIES WITH NVIDIA GEFORCE 8800 GT OR HIGHER PERFORMANCE)
SOUND CARD: DIRECTX COMPATIBLE
KEYBOARD AND MOUSE
DVD ROM DRIVE
Recommended System Requirements
OS: WINDOWS 7 64-BIT
PROCESSOR: QUAD-CORE CPU
MEMORY: 4 GB
HARD DRIVE: 20 GB
GRAPHICS CARD: DIRECTX 11 COMPATIBLE WITH 1024 MB RAM (NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 OR ATI RADEON 6950)
SOUND CARD: DIRECTX COMPATIBLE
KEYBOARD AND MOUSE
DVD ROM DRIVE
I GOT AN INVITE TO THE EARLY ACCESS BETA FOR XBOX 360, BUT I WOULD RATHER PLAY IT ON PLAYSTATION 3, CAN I SOMEHOW CHANGE THIS?
NO. HOWEVER, YOU CAN PLAY ON ANY PLATFORM WHEN THE OPEN BETA STARTS ON SEPTEMBER 29TH.
I BOUGHT THE LIMITED EDITION OF MEDAL OF HONOR, HOW DO I GET EARLY ACCESS?
FOR XBOX 360, YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL WITH INSTRUCTIONS AND YOUR PERSONAL EARLY ACCESS CODE. NOTE YOUR CODE AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS.
FOR PLAYSTATION 3, THE EARLY ACCESS OPEN BETA WILL AUTOMATICALLY APPEAR FOR YOU IN THE PLAYSTATION NETWORK STORE.
ON PC, YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL WITH INSTRUCTIONS AND YOUR PERSONAL EARLY ACCESS CODE. NOTE YOUR CODE AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS TO REDEEM THE CODE ON ORIGIN.
I PRE-ORDERED BATTLEFIELD 3 (PC DIGITAL DOWNLOAD VERSION) ON ORIGIN. HOW DO I GET EARLY ACCESS?
You will receive an email from us with instructions on your early access. The cutoff date for receiving early access by pre-ordering on Origin is September 25th.
I BOUGHT MEDAL OF HONOR LIMITED EDITION/TIER 1 EDITION ON STEAM. HOW DO I GET EARLY ACCESS?
IF YOU PURCHASED MEDAL OF HONOR THROUGH STEAM PRIOR TO JULY 26TH, 2011 CUT-OFF, YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR EARLY ACCESS TO THE BATTLEFIELD 3 OPEN BETA.
TO VIEW YOUR KEY, GO TO MEDAL OF HONOR IN YOUR STEAM LIBRARY, AND CLICK THE "CD KEY" LINK. FIND THE "BATTLEFIELD 3 OPEN BETA EARLY ACCESS" KEY.
BATTLEFIELD 3 IS DELIVERED THROUGH ELECTRONIC ARTS' ORIGIN CLIENT, WHICH YOU CAN DOWNLOAD HERE. www.origin.com/download
ONCE YOU HAVE ORIGIN INSTALLED, RUN IT AND LOG IN WITH YOUR ORIGIN ID. (THIS WILL BE THE SAME AS YOUR EA ACCOUNT ID USED IN METAL OF HONOR.). IN THE ORIGIN CLIENT, CLICK THE GEAR ICON IN THE TOP MENU BAR, AND THEN SELECT "REDEEM PRODUCT CODE".
WHAT TERRITORIES ARE THE BETA AVAILABLE IN? THE BETA IS AVAILABLE in North America, South America, Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
ARE THERE ANY RESTRICTIONS TO PLAY TIME IN THE BETA?
YOU CAN PLAY FOR AS LONG AS YOU WANT DURING THE TIME OF THE BETA. THERE WILL BE NO CAP ON HOW FAR YOU CAN RANK UP OR WHAT YOU CAN UNLOCK.
I SEE THERE ARE SERVERS UP FOR A SECOND MAP ON PC. CAN I ACCESS AND PLAY THIS MAP?
No. THIS MAP IS ONLY FOR INTERNAL BACK-END TESTS.
DOES THIS BETA REPRESENT FINAL GAME QUALITY?
THE BETA IS NOT FINAL SOFTWARE AND UPDATES WILL BE DONE BOTH TO THE GAME AND TO THE BACK-END PRIOR TO THE BATTLEFIELD 3 LAUNCH. YOUR PARTICIPATION WILL STILL HELP US IMPROVE THE FINAL GAME.
WILL MY STATS CARRY OVER FROM THE BETA TO THE FINAL GAME?
NO. WE ARE STILL FINE TUNING THE RANKING SYSTEM AND WE DON’T WANT TO GIVE BETA PLAYERS AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE WHEN BATTLEFIELD 3 LAUNCHES. You will keep your soldier name, though.
I HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BETA Please reach out to our Customer Service.

 

[Capt Caveman]

sad we dont get a new map, but excited none the less

Yeah, pretty lame. Doubt I'll play the beta very much other than test out settings.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

niceeee, a new map would have been good for sure though.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

niceeee, a new map would have been good for sure though.

Gamers in the beta can also log onto Battlelog, the game’s free social media network that allows gamers to communicate and compete with friends, track their stats and share their progress. Battlelog extends the in-game experience to be accessible anywhere, whether on a PC, console or handheld device.
Players are also invited to join the EA Gun Club for the latest shooter news, and to receive in-game benefits including access to the M1911 pistol and distinct badges in Battlefield 3. The M1911 pistol will also be available to registered Battlefield veterans.

Lame, I could never get the veterens site to work properly. I want a free pistol.

 

[JTsyo]

I have a GTX 260, what would I need to compromise on for BF3? Resolution and/or detail? Hoping just tuning down detail and turning off shadows would get me a smooth 30fps. Guess I'll find out in a week.

 

[Termie]

Wow, 3870/8800gt as the minimum system requirements. They aren't messing around. You need a serious gaming rig to play this game...older rigs need not apply!

@JTsyo - in BC2 my GTX460 could only push 35fps at 1920/4xAA. This benchmark review of BC2, which includes a GTX260, might give you some ideas on how BF3 will perform: http://www.techspot.com/article/255-battlefield-bad-company2-performance/page4.html.

But we'll all soon see, won't we!

 

[Zargon]

Yeah, pretty lame. Doubt I'll play the beta very much other than test out settings.

I only got to play teh alpha for like 2 hours, so I barely touched it


but damn we all know we wanted caspian

 

[Demo24]

Yay! One week and game time, thankfully Tuesday is a pretty free day for me! Be interesting to see how this 5770 holds up, semi-patiently waiting on the next gen cards

 

[jackstar7]

I timed my week of vacation perfectly. Wheeeee!

 

[TheUnk]

Wow good thing I pre-ordered that turd MoH to get "early" beta access.

2 days. Yay.

 

[leeland]

So...in order to run the game on Ultra settings you need 800+ dollars of video cards?

MAN...I am really in the hole on this one...running a 5850 I can barely play Red Orchestra 2 on Medium lol.


Also are there any current deals going on at the moment for a pre-order?

 

[VulgarDisplay]

So...in order to run the game on Ultra settings you need 800+ dollars of video cards?

MAN...I am really in the hole on this one...running a 5850 I can barely play Red Orchestra 2 on Medium lol.


Also are there any current deals going on at the moment for a pre-order?

They released a patch for red orchestra yesterday and its running a lot better on my 5870. The 5850 is still a really good card.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Total pandemonium over at the UK forum lol. Half the people wonder how in the world they will provide a working Conquest at release if they only test Rush, the other half are chanting "have faith in DICE", lol.

 

[videogames101]

DICE isn't fvking around with those minimum/recommended specs! This is the first game in over 2 years that makes me think about upgrading.

 

[dyndragon]

Total pandemonium over at the UK forum lol. Half the people wonder how in the world they will provide a working Conquest at release if they only test Rush, the other half are chanting "have faith in DICE", lol.

Reading that forum makes me sick. Bunch of over-privileged children who don't understand software testing and the legitimate reasons why one might want to do the same test on the same map after making changes between alpha and beta.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Reading that forum makes me sick. Bunch of over-privileged children who don't understand software testing and the legitimate reasons why one might want to do the same test on the same map after making changes between alpha and beta.

You're right, they do need to re-test OM to evaluate the changes from Alpha. But why not test both? Not testing Conquest at all means Conquest will be on shaky ground at release time.

I suppose then, that we have to go back and wonder why they didn't Alpha test on Conquest. I'm no Rush hater, but I do prefer CQ and I think at least half of BF players do as well.

 

[dyndragon]

You're right, they do need to re-test OM to evaluate the changes from Alpha. But why not test both? Not testing Conquest at all means Conquest will be on shaky ground at release time.

I suppose then, that we have to go back and wonder why they didn't Alpha test on Conquest. I'm no Rush hater, but I do prefer CQ and I think at least half of BF players do as well.

Yeah, it's true. I would like to see the vehicles and CQ tested out, but the reality is that resources are limited and I'd rather have them solidly test out the weapon balance and other customizations with the data from alpha. We know CQ works as a game mode, and it's not like it's NOT going to be tested, it just isn't going to be tested by US.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Nice to know this old 9800gtx has a chance while i save up funds for a 580.

BC2 did fairly well at 1600x1200 on high with over 60fps and the occasional dip to about 35 fps while being backed up by a 4.3ghzs 2500k.

Not many gamers using a 9 series card with a $200 i5 chip so i bet with all bottlenecking from the cpu removed this card can do 1600x1200 on low .

 

[uclaLabrat]

I'm at 2560x1600 with a single 4870X2. I'm hoping new offerings from AMD or Nvidia willl shake things up a bit so I can upgrade. I could barely play the alpha at all, crossfire was a disaster.

 

[GullyFoyle]

I'm disappointed I will not be able to test out Joystick support in the beta.
This is always a problem area.

 

[Kev]

I'm at 2560x1600 with a single 4870X2. I'm hoping new offerings from AMD or Nvidia willl shake things up a bit so I can upgrade. I could barely play the alpha at all, crossfire was a disaster.

oh great. I'm in the same situation with xf 4870's. After all the stupid issues I've had with xf in games I'm just done with it from now on.

Guess I'll have to build a new pc.

 

[dyndragon]

I'm disappointed I will not be able to test out Joystick support in the beta.
This is always a problem area.

Yeah, though my questions about that have always been answered with a "don't worry, it's much better than last times"...hopefully it is.