Battlefield 3 Console Cuts

Demiurge

Battlefield 3 Console Cuts

DICE explains console concessions for its upcoming shooter.

July 26, 2011

Speaking to Gamezone (via CVG), DICE head Patrick Bach said the console versions of Battlefield 3 will restrict the number of players allowed in multiplayer, down from 64 on PC to just 24.

"The biggest difference between the PC and console version of Battlefield 3 is that we have 64 players on PC and 24 players maximum on console," Bach said. "The rest is more or less the same: we use the same engine, the same technology, the same animation system, the same lighting system. Our aim is to give the player the exact same experience and not try to dumb down the console version.

"If you want the same quality of game, I would say it's really, really hard. We tried to get more players in [to the console version] but then you need to scale down all the graphics, scale down all the destructibility, and sometimes you need to scale down all the map sizes. Everything is a compromise on: where do you cut?

"You could argue that other games do [fewer] players as well. There are games that do less, and there are games that do more. We don't see games that have more players as a better experience, so having more players per se doesn't automatically give you a better experience."

Bach also outlined the differences in the game's maps between console and PC.

"More or less. When we say they are smaller, it's not that we have cut them in half. But we tried to compact them slightly to keep the action up. If you compare it to Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the maps weren't really small on console. We actually had huge maps even for console. We have the same kind of angle on it right now [in Battlefield 3].

We want to create the same experience for PC as for consoles."

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/118/1184288p1.html

kuntasensei

Nothing unexpected there. I'd still rather buy on 360 than spend a bunch of money upgrading my PC.

AsSiMiLaTeD

It doesn't matter to me, Im a PC guy anyway, especially for games like this. I don't care what they say now, the graphics on the PC version will be better, just like they are for BC2.

Zeros

kuntasensei wrote: »

Nothing unexpected there. I'd still rather buy on 360 than spend a bunch of money upgrading my PC.

Same here

Face

assimilated wrote: »

it doesn't matter to me, im a pc guy anyway, especially for games like this. I don't care what they say now, the graphics on the pc version will be better, just like they are for bc2.

+1...

tommyboy

24 or 64, it doesn't matter I'm getting it for the 360. I don't have the cash to play on the PC

blehmbo

No surprise there. I'm glad they're releasing another 64 player BF game for PC.

jkg123

Who cares about how much better the graphics are, the game is gonna be awesome for all platforms....

AsSiMiLaTeD

jkg123 wrote: »

Who cares about how much better the graphics are, the game is gonna be awesome for all platforms....

Alot of people care, myself included. Some people care, some don't - why's that so hard to understand? Do you prefer gaming on the 360 or on your 16 bit SNES?

hockeyboy

I dig my 360 because it's hooked into my movie room. 109 inches of pure awesomeness and two big SVS subs so I can enjoy every explosion.

cokewithvanilla

PC hooked to a tv/projector is the best way to go. xbox/ps3 cannot touch a computer when it comes to graphics.

You really don't need a high end computer to play games... I'm still riding on my old e6600/2600xt for games and it does fine so far. Usually 1920x1080 and 2x aa... not bad for 5 years old. Personal preference though, I guess

piker

I'm also looking forward to it on the pc. Mouse & keyboard, plus DX11.

The latest example of console vs pc power is with Deux Ex: Human Revolution. I played the first hour on the 360 and it looked really good. On the PC it is simply stunning! Especially at 2560x1600 resolution with every graphical setting maxed out.

The only thing the consoles have going for it is the comfort of sitting back on the sofa and using a gamepad. Then again... I could hook up my 360 controller to my gaming pc and get the same effect by playing it through the pc on my home theater setup. Except I would also have DX11 lighting and high anti-aliasing, so it would still be better. PC wins!

kuntasensei

I don't know why we get into these discussions... Of course a recent PC will run a game better than a 4+ year old console. PC is always the one on the bleeding edge, simply by merit of the platform. But the question is whether the same experience can be brought to the console, and it looks like they're pulling it off with Battlefield 3, despite the dip in framerate. For the vast majority, it will be good enough on 360/PS3.

Besides... why would I build a new PC to play games when I could spend that money on a new amp? Heh...

polkfarmboy

My problem I have is Why cant the ps3 have more players than the 360 ?

The whole reason I bought the ps3 was to have better graphics than my 360

kuntasensei

polkfarmboy wrote: »

My problem I have is Why cant the ps3 have more players than the 360 ?

The whole reason I bought the ps3 was to have better graphics than my 360

Yeah... that hasn't really worked out to be the case. Each platform has its own limitations, and they typically end up being about the same visually. In the immediate case, the maps for the console are not going to be quite the same as the PC in order for it to be a more console-friendly directed experience. Between that and the network overhead, I would never expect consoles to support as many players as PC. Even the lowliest GPU on the PC has access to more memory than either PS3 or 360 (though 360 has the edge on this, as the system memory can be dynamically reallocated - a nice legacy of having Microsoft's OS experience behind it).

IMO, anything over 24 players is too much anyway. But that's probably just me.

polkfarmboy

kuntasensei wrote: »

IMO, anything over 24 players is too much anyway. But that's probably just me.

You should try playing 'MAG' on the ps3 with 128 people on the one map .Watch 15 people running down hill straight in the line of sight of your sniper scope and tell me thats too many people :biggrin:

kuntasensei

Yeah... that's too many people. Not a fan. But then, that could be why I haven't liked the other Battlefield games either, so I'm hoping this one changes my mind.

Honestly, 16 players is the sweet spot for me. Anything more than that, and it's just white noise. But like I said... Could just be me. I normally play team games with like 4 people in party chat on my team so we can tune out the other people altogether.

polkfarmboy

kuntasensei wrote: »

Yeah... that's too many people. Not a fan. But then, that could be why I haven't liked the other Battlefield games either, so I'm hoping this one changes my mind.

Honestly, 16 players is the sweet spot for me. Anything more than that, and it's just white noise. But like I said... Could just be me. I normally play team games with like 4 people in party chat on my team so we can tune out the other people altogether.

I think party chat ruined the experience a little for me .Normaly I like to talk ****:biggrin: to people I don't know and get a verbal gymnastics match going but now everyone party's with each other

kuntasensei

Heh... I can appreciate that. I'm more casual than that, and the trash talk mostly just annoys me. Could be why I prefer co-op like Borderlands over any of the competitive stuff. That's why I'm glad Battlefield 3 has co-op!

Face

PC beta is available for those who pre-ordered.

Zeros

Open Beta for all platforms starts this Thursday, 9/29. I better see you guys on XBLive!

Splif

Early access started today. Mine is d/l as we speak. Any and all add me. Spliff7

just let me know you're from here so i don't trash it. see you on the Battlefield!

Zeros

Splif wrote: »

Early access started today. Mine is d/l as we speak. Any and all add me. Spliff7

just let me know you're from here so i don't trash it. see you on the Battlefield!

Friend request sent

kuntasensei

Played the beta on 360 for about 20 minutes... Canceling my pre-order this weekend. I don't know what crackhead they got to say this was the best graphics on the 360, but this game looks like garbage. And that's not a knock on the 360 or a 360 vs. PC thing... Battlefield 3's graphics look worse to me than GRAW2, and that came out quite a while back. Compared to modern games like Crysis 2, Bulletstorm or Gears Of War 3 on the 360 (or even COD: Black Ops), this game really looks awful. I know it's just a beta... but with only a few weeks left until release, I don't expect a massive jump in graphical quality.

I could forgive the graphics if the rest worked... but it's still rife with everything I've hated about Battlefield games. The feel of the controls, the movement on-screen, the menus themselves... It all just feels cheap and unpolished. Maybe it's true that you're either a Call Of Duty player or a Battlefield player, but my money's definitely going toward better looking and playing games like Rage and Modern Warfare 3 now. Glad they did this beta, if only to save me money and anger. Hope you guys enjoy it though!

Demiurge

I have to agree, sadly. This demo was awful. It looks like reheated BF2, but worse. I'll probably buy it for the single player several months down the road, but I'm not going to bother with BF3 MP at this juncture. Canceling my preorder as well.

Zeros

I played for about 2 hours last night. I don't know what to say really. It kinda felt like every other battlefield game that I've played. I'm not too impressed really.

Demiurge

I'm just really disappointed.

Based on the preview videos, I was looking forward to this way more than Modern Warfare 3. Going back to when BF2 first came out I gave it short shrift just like I'm doing here. I didn't love the MP because it felt too clunky for my tastes and not as realistic as people claimed it was, but I still put a lot of time into BF2.

Unless MW3 flops, this is just not going to be enough to unseat it as the behemoth it is. I think that's a bad thing, because it would have forced Activision to step up their game for their next release, pun intended.

I realize that graphically this game will be better on PC, but I have played games on the XBox 360 that look fantastic. The gap just isn't that great anymore and with the money you dump in you're getting diminishing returns. I agree that on the XBox 360 this looks like something from 2006 -- worse. Graphics aren't the only thing to consider in a game for me, but I prefer them to compliment good game play. I'm not getting either. Like BF2 -- BF3's demo same clunky feeling.

It's possible that this demo was not the fully realized version of what's in the full retail game, but I doubt it. I would have to question the motive to release something that wasn't finished because unless it's a great demo that's unpolished, it's only going to hurt sales. It's not like this was a game starving to get press. I've had this pre-ordered for almost the entire year. The main reason to put out an open beta demo out would be to try and increase sales, I think. They can diagnose bugs in closed betas, and no doubt did, so that doesn't seem to me like it was the intent.

I haven't looked around the web to read other reactions, and I might end up being wrong about this game, but right now this is definitely not a release date purchase anymore. :sad:

Zeros

I was just reading a thread on Joystiq and a fair amount of people feel the same way as we do. A lot of complaints about no vehicles and no destructive environment in the beta when it was in the alpha. I really hope it is just a beta thing, but with the game being released in less than a month, I don't see how they can fix all of this.

I honestly have never played any of the MW games. I have BF3 on pre-order, but am leaning a bit towards canceling that and picking up MW3. It's a shame, because I really like BF:BC2 (as crazy as that sounds) and was hoping that BF3 would be better.

I have to keep telling myself its just a beta, I guess.

mrbiron

Aww crap!....i haven't gotten the demo yet.
The good part about all this is, i have never played Battlefield 1&2 so this will still be a new experience for me. I was hoping for the real "teamwork" aspect vs COD's d-baggery of being your own team. Maybe i'll still skip the demo and just wait the 3 weeks for it to land on my doorstep.

Zeros

mrbiron wrote: »

Aww crap!....i haven't gotten the demo yet.
The good part about all this is, i have never played Battlefield 1&2 so this will still be a new experience for me. I was hoping for the real "teamwork" aspect vs COD's d-baggery of being your own team. Maybe i'll still skip the demo and just wait the 3 weeks for it to land on my doorstep.

You should at least give it a try for a little bit. I plan to be on tonight for some time, so if you do decide to try it, I'll invite you to a squad. The same goes for anyone else that might be trying this out tonight.

FYI it is a 1.3 GB download, so you might want to turn your xbox on and start downloading it ahead of time if you don't feel like waiting forever.

Demiurge

From elsewhere on the web:

DICE has tweeted by multiple employees/developers of DICE that the console "beta" was an old build. The real "Beta" is on PC with Caspian Borders, everyone is loving it and saying it's some of the best experiences ever. Unfortunately, consoles got a crappy ported alpha build that the PC had a month ago and called it a "beta".

I believe that DICE is just testing servers and porting issues.

If that's the case, what a screw up.