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

[MajorMullet]

Tactical flashlight, or overdone scope/lens glare? The closer I get to a sniper, the harder it is to see him...

It's the tactical flashlight. It's much brighter to me than the one in the picture there.

 

[Bill Brasky]

From Battlelog, go to Multiplayer -> Server Browser

I picked North America and 5+ free slots for my filters (have to expand the filter section above the server list). Helps to find servers that aren't full.

I did this and it has never once worked. Meaning, I had the settings you described, got a list of servers, but when I click to join one, the little progress box just stays at "connecting." When I choose quick play, I actually join a server at some point... DURRR

 

[Exterous]

I'm with you, honestly. I really wanted to like it, but it's pretty freaking stupid that you need to open this, open that, click this, then click that, open 3 programs, and THEN you get to play the game. Then there's the keybindings (still a monster WTF in my book)

Yeah - open origin -> Log into web browser -> click quick match -> click join server -> click join game -> alt+enter for full screen.

Get rid of the effing join server, join game and alt+enter

\I can't quit a game after a match and have to either alt tab or wait for a new round to start just to quit, and can't leave when you are dead either. Can't adjust settings before launching into a map, can only adjust settings when spawned. I couldn't find it, but where can I see my ping in game?

I am hoping some more options are to be added because some of these are glaring omissions. I can't exit the game between rounds? Come on!

Seems everyone including myself hates the prone.

Dice should have stuck to their guns and excluded it .

It's only bad in the bushes where you are invisible. Once you make it into the subway and the city its not nearly as bad

I like the game so far but I was astonished at how prevelant some of the issues are. There seems to be a lot of issues with prone and falling through the map. And some ares if you spawn on someone who is prone you have a hell of a time moving at all. Often, when against cover you move forwards and backwards...

 

[Exterous]

Oh - and I want accuracy stats for different classes. My spray and pray support method (that I get a fair number of suppression points for) is KILLING my overall accuracy

 

[MajorMullet]

Strange, I haven't had any issues with the server browser. I pick one from the list, hit Join Server and away it goes.

One annoying thing I've noticed is that I can't see the mini map. I'm running nvidia surround, so not sure if that has something to do with it or not. I did the overlay setting in game with the arrows, but it still won't come up. The only thing I see on the HUD is my squad member list.

I have a feeling some poor dudes at DICE are going to have a rough few weeks.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Yeah - open origin -> Log into web browser -> click quick match -> click join server -> click join game -> alt+enter for full screen.

Get rid of the effing join server, join game and alt+enter

fwiw - in options, you can set it to full-screen

Also, when you're in the battlelog, if you have friends playing, you can just click and join them.

Nice thing going forward is you can just bookmark your favorite servers in the browser and just join them, skipping all of the other steps.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

what's with the 1.6 million dollar bf3 tourney that's console only?

 

[Stuxnet]

I have a feeling some poor dudes at DICE are going to have a rough few weeks.

The proper step at this point is to own up to the issues and horrific incompleteness and delay the game, but this is EA/Dice... It's going to get shoveled to the masses next month come hell or high water.

 

[Paladin]

I've only been able to play once. Everytime since then I try and join a server using quick match and it just sits and spins. The one time I did get the game to launch I saw nowhere to change the resolution, and video options. If I ever get the game to run again, where and how do I do that?
In what options can you set it to full screen. I don't see any options on the battelog web portal.

 

[Demo24]

I've only been able to play once. Everytime since then I try and join a server using quick match and it just sits and spins. The one time I did get the game to launch I saw nowhere to change the resolution, and video options. If I ever get the game to run again, where and how do I do that?
In what options can you set it to full screen. I don't see any options on the battelog web portal.

You have to spawn, then you can hit 'esc' and get to the 'main menu'. Which is incredibly stupid, how that ever passed is beyond me. Dice employees must use their comp and games differently than every other person on the planet.

 

[GullyFoyle]

I've only been able to play once. Everytime since then I try and join a server using quick match and it just sits and spins. The one time I did get the game to launch I saw nowhere to change the resolution, and video options. If I ever get the game to run again, where and how do I do that?
In what options can you set it to full screen. I don't see any options on the battelog web portal.

You have to join a server, then spawn on the map before you can hit ESC to see the configuration options menu. It's been bitched about quite a few time in this thread already.

 

[GullyFoyle]

Battlefield 3 - Caspian Border Multiplayer Gameplay (HD)
This dude KyleN is still on the Caspian Border servers at this very moment...EA-testing-US-MyIS-1

 

[Stuxnet]

I've only been able to play once. Everytime since then I try and join a server using quick match and it just sits and spins. The one time I did get the game to launch I saw nowhere to change the resolution, and video options. If I ever get the game to run again, where and how do I do that?
In what options can you set it to full screen. I don't see any options on the battelog web portal.

Oh that's the best part! You can only modify settings when you're alive. Not when you're dead, not between rounds, and certainly not from Battlelog. No. You need to open origin, then start BF3, then try to find a server in Battleclusterfsck, spawn, hide, and THEN play with settings. But hurry: if you get killed while doing this, the settings screen closes and you have to wait to spawn again and try again.

For fuck sakes, DICE... It sounds even more ridiculous when I say it aloud.

 

[Inferno0032]

I would just say... relax. It's a beta.

I really like the mechanics of the movement, the crawling, hurdling, I think that's all very well done. The sound is amazing (reminds me of America's Army 3.0), and is as good as I've experienced. I've liked it so far, and look forward to what it'll be when they make the improvements.

It has a different feel to it, but BC2 did from BF2. You change the mechanics of a game, the feel changes. There's still two weeks of beta for them to implement changes, it's just not worth spending the time and energy over B&Cing this to death.

Personally, the map isn't the greatest, but I'm still having fun, I like the core that's there, and I'm not sweating the little things right now (even if it's annoying). I just feel good to be able to play the game a month before it's actually released, have fun with something new, and help DICE get the game ready.

Really hope we'll see Caspian Border tomorrow or Thursday!

Until then, maybe step away for a bit if you're that pissed off by it, come back after they patch it, or cool off and try again. I also notice people hate a game when they're not good at it, or they expect a particular run n' gun style of play that just won't succeed, and once they get the hang of it, all of a sudden their feelings change. Nobody likes change.

 

[Bill Brasky]

Oh that's the best part! You can only modify settings when you're alive. Not when you're dead, not between rounds, and certainly not from Battlelog. No. You need to open origin, then start BF3, then try to find a server in Battleclusterfsck, spawn, hide, and THEN play with settings. But hurry: if you get killed while doing this, the settings screen closes and you have to wait to spawn again and try again.

For fuck sakes, DICE... It sounds even more ridiculous when I say it aloud.

I just don't understand why something as simple as keybindings is such a difficult issue for dice. Is it really that hard?

 

[leeland]

Battlefield 3 - Caspian Border Multiplayer Gameplay (HD)
This dude KyleN is still on the Caspian Border servers at this very moment...EA-testing-US-MyIS-1

I got a 'this video is private' message

 

[leglez]

Well crap looks like I can't run this. Needs Nvidia drivers 285, and the highest update available for mine is 280. Anyone have any ideas on fixes besides buying a new video card?

 

[KaOTiK]

I would be really nice if there was a filter for server searching for friendly fire on/off. I die more to my own team than to the enemy. Just running around in the tunnels/halls and you run into each other and the first thing that happens is you shoot. I've done my fair share of it as well, but ugh.

 

[digitard]

I always take beta's with a grain of salt.

Most likely what you're playing isn't the current game build. Hell it's probably not even the past 2 game builds. It's setup so whatever data they need to collect is in the build (be it map issues, net code, etc). Then as they sort through all the data the servers collect and user reported things they work that data into the current build they're actually working on for Gold status.

I've participated in many beta's that were crap until a week before it ended, and then they released a near gold client, and BLAMMO... completely different game because they'd been working the fixes into the true build and not the one used to collect data.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Before BF3 beta came out,on a BC2 server i would average the top 4th best player on my team half the time i would be the top player...on this game while great i end up being average the top 3rd worst LOL while fps gaming habit's stay the same a.k.a run and gun

Not used to non vehicle gameplay and prune appears to be overwhelming to the point every other bush has someone in it,and people tease COD for camping...

Been fun but unless they put some more work into it i think for now till a good patch comes out BC2 wins my heart i got 480 hours in and this one can't hold me a hour at a time.

Not bashing BF3 but i swear prune is gonna ruin gameplay .

 

[KaOTiK]

It can go either way with betas. Betas nowadays are synonymous with demo. 95% of what you see nowadays is usually what the game is when released. Lets be honest here, the game releases in not even a month, it has already been sent off to be replicated, this beta right now is probably what was sent to the factories. Granted, we will have patches, lots of them, but lets not fool ourselves and think things are going to be all peachy in a month.

That being said, they could be one of the very very few games that does a big turn around from its beta to release day code, but if I was a betting man, I know I wouldn't bet on it.

The thing that is going to make or break my purchase is if I can play conquest before it comes out, because I can not give the game a true fair shake with rush cause I really don't like rush, I like my god damn vehicles, big maps, and multiple places to attack/defend at once.

 

[KaOTiK]

Before BF3 beta came out,on a BC2 server i would average the top 4th best player on my team half the time i would be the top player...on this game while great i end up being average the top 3rd worst LOL while fps gaming habit's stay the same a.k.a run and gun

Not used to non vehicle gameplay and prune appears to be overwhelming to the point every other bush has someone in it,and people tease COD for camping...

Been fun but unless they put some more work into it i think for now till a good patch comes out BC2 wins my heart i got 480 hours in and this one can't hold me a hour at a time.

Not bashing BF3 but i swear prune is gonna ruin gameplay .

Prune is old already, saw a bunch of people on the servers I was going through bitching about it too. It didn't matter where the hell you went there was some motherfucker laying on the ground and still when you and someone else see each other the first thing I see them do 70% of the time is prune right that second lol

 

[Childs]

Well crap looks like I can't run this. Needs Nvidia drivers 285, and the highest update available for mine is 280. Anyone have any ideas on fixes besides buying a new video card?

There were beta drivers linked by Gully that might help:

http://www.geforce.com/News/articles/nvidia-geforce-r285-beta-driver-for-bf3-released

 

[skipsneeky2]

Prune is old already, saw a bunch of people on the servers I was going through bitching about it too. It didn't matter where the hell you went there was some motherfucker laying on the ground and still when you and someone else see each other the first thing I see them do 70% of the time is prune right that second lol

Now the BF fanboy's can't attack COD for camping cause i never saw a BF game in my life with so much camping .:\

COD has prune too but BF3 has a zillion bushs=zillion places to hide and they conceal people so good .

If the bush's in the final game were removed or cut low enough possibly to show a bit more of a hidden enemy that would make things a bit smoother.

Only saving grace for me is keeping a ear out for someone reloading or a knife but besides that forget it .

 

[novasatori]

as for snipers/recon, I think they buffed the sniper rifle way too much, and they nerfed 3d spotting HARD so the snipers are extremely strong now

in alpha rarely anyone played recon, and they weren't any good without the more powerful bolt rifles

beta is way more polished than alpha already and that was like a month and a half ago, so...

the only real technical problem i have is there is that I get this one graphic artifact, which looks
like a polygon that points at the center of the screen, after playing for a bit, and there are random
crashes at map end (lost connection to server)