Battlefield 3 Beta – What it Does Right, What it Does Wrong

Bryce Wilson writes: "Rewind time a few days and I was in a better place. Well that’s not entirely true, life is pretty great right now, but in the gaming world I was in a better place..."

[Yi-Long]

... is that the map and the rush-mode isn't the best way to really show newscomers what the 'Battlefield experience' is all about.

When you think of Battlefield, you think of a big map with lots of (personal) freedom and different spots where there's action going on and you think of vehicles.

This is a map that seems to be aimed purely at winning over the CoD fans, and releasing a glitchy and bugged BETA isn't going to be all that convincing to that crowd.

I'm sure the game will be great though, as I have every confidence in DICE to fix whatever is wrong with it, but I feel releasing this map or even this BETA, might not have been the wisest decision they have ever made.

[Kreyg]

Pretty much. I want them to open up Caspian Border again. Odds are they won't :-(

[CrzyFooL]

there's a caspian server open right now... but you didn't hear that from me ;-)

[farhad2k8]

@CrzyFooL
Password?

[LightofDarkness]

His idea of what happened with BattleLog probably went more like this:
DICE UI/Network Integrator: "So the old UI's still good with everyone?"
*room agrees
DICE Project Manager: "Great, now we can devote more time and people to squashing some more bugs in time for release and--"
*suddenly, EA executive arrives, with a big cheeky grin
EA Exec: "Hey, guys! LOVE that whole Call of Battle thing you guys are doing, my kids love that stuff. Anyway, me and the other guys in upper management were talking, and we think we have a great idea on how we can make Battleduty a better game AND grow the EA brand. You with me?"
*DICE developers let out mass sigh
EA Exec: "Of course you are! So, we noticed the kids are all about that facebook and myspace stuff these days, and that whole twitter thing too. And then it hit me like a lightning bolt: why don't we make the game work like that? Just play it through the internet window somehow, and they can use our incredible and superior Origin service to connect to it! This is one of those rare ideas guys, a real game-changer."
DICE UI/Network Integrator: "That's really good, and all, but there's nothing wrong with the current--"
EA Exec: "Let me stop you right there buddy: I know what you're thinking. But there is something wrong with it. It doesn't grow the brand. We're pushing the boundaries here, guys. I need you to be on-board!"
DICE dev: "But--"
EA Exec: "Whoa, now. This is priority 1. NUMERO UNO. Make it happen. Ciao!"
*EA Exec leaves with another portion of over 100 people's souls

[OcelotRigz]

Thats actually highly likely.
Im surprised they didnt make you launch from Facebook itself.

[RegorL]

No, I think battlelog has been in the works a lot longer.

What is good:
- server browser, will allow more filtering options
- server side updates, new updates to all can almost be done daily
- clans, and will improve...
- fast, browsing and starting a game is faster than ingame serverbrowsers!

What is bad,
- bugs, mostly how the game-client implements squads. But most bugs are short lived once found...

[MrSent]

It's a Beta.

[GameZenith]

Thank You!

People act like this is a demo when that isn't it. This wasn't a demo aimed to wow people. This was a beta that DICE allowed everyone to play so they can get a ballpark estimate of server stress so that they can be ready come October 25th. This build is probably a month or two old and I doubt that the game now is as buggy as it is in the beta which is probably true because this is a BETA not a demo.

This is THE MAIN reason why E3 only allows Press behind closed doors access to videogame demostrations/hands on becasuse 99% of the games at E3 are still in development and will be laggy, buggy, glitchy, and so on. People in the media are MATURE enough to turn a blind eye on such things when they come back and do their write ups because they understand the process.

The only thing DICE did wrong was allowing everyone to play it.

People, grow up.

[farhad2k8]

The game has either gone Gold already, or is about to with in the next 5 days.
Yes.. it's a Beta, but when a Beta comes out with HORRIBLE 'under-map' glitches at this time and stage, it really causes concern. I mean, they must have played it ATLEAST 2 times to realise that. It's like.. "Hey, there's something wrong here, I just fell through the ground.. 16,000 times?", "Yeah, I know, isn't it funny? "Better tell the higher people in DICE/EA".. "No, fuck it, let the Beta players suffer, we're doomed anyway".

A slap in the face from DICE/EA. I really hope they sort their shit out before release day which is like 20 days away. I bet it will be lag/bug infested on day one, and I'm going to end up beating the shit out of my PS3 controller because of it!!

[OcelotRigz]

You'd think that was obvious but apparently not, especially when you see people complain about bugs. Bugs in a beta, who would ever of thunk it.

Im loving it. Starting to get sick of playing the same map over and over alright but still, cant wait to get my hands on the full game.

[--Onilink--]

Exactly, and the whole idea of a Beta is for people to complain about whats wrong so they can change it.... its kinda hard for DICE to change anything if you expect everyone to just stay quiet about problems because "its a beta"...

[shooter747]

Idiots like MrSent really have no idea what really means by a beta build. You would assume that a beta will have all bugs and glitches and inconsistencies. A beta build is close to final build and indicative of what the game is come release. The fact is the quality of the beta is way poor, below standard and a lot of work still needs to be done. Betas are also not supposed to be released within a few weeks of launch. It now actually appears DICE has ran out of time and EA can't really screw up the timeline because it will affect their bottomline, and asked DICE to just throw out there what they have and hope for the best.

[MrSent]

"You would assume that a beta will have all bugs and glitches and inconsistencies. A beta build is close to final build and indicative of what the game is come release. The fact is the quality of the beta is way poor, below standard and a lot of work still needs to be done."

Oh Hai! The very definition of a beta. Congrats!
Dice has been fixing and teaking the beta, and it's primary purpose was to test server backend functionality. Your ideas ARE PURE SPECULATION. Thanks for mentioning its a beta, thats what you get with Beta's. Its not a demo and its not the retail version. Its a beta. Its a beta. its a beta. GET it? If not, you lose.