Ok, after a couple weeks of play I have some impressions and hopes for future patches.
I know some BF3 devs post on some forums so I first want to get this part out of the way first before all my criticisms: Great job! I love BF3 and plan to play it for a very long time (until BF3: Special Edition releases on the Xbox 720/PS4). I pre-ordered before there were any reviews and set aside launch day to play ( … ). I am really impressed DICE was able to create a game that is at one moment deep and robust but at the same moment very accessible. DICE was able to work prone, multiple fire modes, and a host of gadgets that add nuance to the game but don’t unbalance it in such a way to detract from the core mechanics. This is a great achievement!
I also want to say thanks for making a game that works-best with teamwork. I haven’t had a chance to play a ton with friends, but when I have it has become really clear that DICE resisted totally succumbing to the console-no-teamplay crowd. E.g. Tanks should be dispensers of death on wheels – with the known vulnerability of being not so quick. Get a tank in a long street with multistory windows and RPG fire and stealthy C4 plants spell the immediate doom of a lone tank driver. But the smart tanker who has a gunner and a couple ground troops to keep the opponents out from close proximity, spotting enemies, etc is a multiplied force that can roll on pretty much any fortified position. Hurrah for Teamplay! (Scott, NRP, and I were doing exactly this last night and went 1-2-3 when we were doing this.)
These are the kind of things that make BF a totally *different* experience from the other big name shooters. You get RPS gameplay in a Team-Objective-Class core design with a good variety of ground and air vehicles. And it is a very, very good experience … for the most part. There are some “uglies” I want squashed, but the core is really growing on me.
Now at what I hinted at: the needed patches and DLC wish list. Some of this is ugly, so avert your eyes if you are squeamish (or if you haven’t gotten BF3 yet. Go get it, enjoy it, and then join my chorus of whines. Until you have enjoyed what BF3 has to offer please ignore the following as they are scathing complaints not set in the context of the praise the game deserves as a total package. With that said, BAD DICE!! Why is every launch aptly described as a “train wreck”? If the fact nearly every media outlet has said something akin to this, does this not bug you and also incline you to make it a priority to change? You need to dedicate a person to the official capacity of, “Smooth Release Coordinator” and tattoo on their forehead, “The game has no release date other than, ‘When it is DONE!’” Need more incentive? Hint: A more polished Day 1 product will result in pushing BF into the upper echelon of Metacritic titles. I know you guys and gals work really, really hard so it must be extremely frustrating to hear things like customers call themselves “Beta Testers,” when games are discussed one of the first things said of your product is “buggy,” and the looming cloud on launch day sales known as the, “Battlefield Car Wreck, version 3.” This situation detracts from the GREAT software you make and cuts into prime sales. It also doesn’t mesh well with a deep game: a robust product needs to be extremely balanced and polished as to not detract from the depth of the title.
DLC/Patch Wants:
# Exiting a game before the next round loads. Solution: Patch this issue ASAP. This should have never made it out of Beta testing. People complained then. Until then at least allow us to change our kits and such during this boringly slow window. UGH!!!!
# Hit detection / Lag. There are clearly some changes from the Beta (seems many guns are not as powerful) but the big one I have noticed is “hit lag.” It looks like the game is hitscan (client side) which means if there is some lag between my opponent, the server, and myself, even though on my screen I opened fire first and registered hits I die (or like last night I was safely behind a wall—well behind a wall—and the player who could no longer see me killed me). At first I thought the general issue was just HP differences, gun differences (maybe they had a shotgun and didn’t notice), armor or bullet unlocks (?), flukes, a lot of returned head shots I overlooked, but I began to notice other matches where this problem wasn’t occurring at all (even the reverse where everyone just seemed to react very slowly to me). I have played enough now to eliminate a lot of those factors and I have played with enough friends to hear the same complaint. This isn’t a complaint of client vs. server side hit detection, but the implementation appears to need some serious work for infantry combat to feel rewarding / consistent. It is too early to get too uptight about this but if it lingers it will become very similar to some of the former GeoW releases with pretty poor host advantage issues that made the experience less than rewarding in the long run. Solution: PATCH ASAP.
# Unlocks require substantial (crazy!) play time. Also, the game offers little insight into where I stand on future progression (what are my next 3 assault rifles? How many pts do I need to get my holoscope? Either the UI is so poor I cannot figure this out OR it isn’t there, either way this needs to be fixed.) Solution: Lower Unlock Thresholds. I know BF is to be played a long time (I played a ton out of ’42/RTR/SW, BF:V, BF2, BC1, ’43) but I don’t want to have to put 100 hours in to unlock stuff that is useful. And the vehicle unlocks? That is just BS. I repeat: Vehicle. Unlocks. Are. BS. I picked up Helo unlocks quickly (flares, aa missiles, etc) but those should be there right out of the box as they clearly unbalance the game experience. I feel for new players who get in a Helo and are being shot down with stingers upon taking off because they have no flares. That is poor design. I am not a big fan of unlocks but, hear me out here, I think your competition does it better. First off they allow you some choice in selecting what you want in some areas. Second, they are addictive because they come fast and furious. I am finding everything about the unlocks unpleasant and seeing how much better the M416 is than the standard rifle makes me roll my eyes. I don’t want an advantage and I don’t want a disadvantage. Let people have access to the toys, pick what suits their style best, and let’s roll out. Unlocks should give a different experience, not create an inferior one (e.g. I liked the FAMAS in MW2 because I liked the 3 round burst/solid range firing—but it wasn’t “better” than other weapon systems). If your system is extremely inflexible please reduce some thresholds or offer XP multipliers for every day someone doesn’t play (so if I miss 4 days I should get 2-4x XP for 1 match for every 1 day I was not online). My helo gunners still don’t have a useful anti-tank weapon … this is just aggravating.
# No vehicle/weapon systems training. Solution: Create a free Training “Playground” with the first free DLC where *all* vehicles and *all* unlocks are available to test; perk: allow multiple people in your playground; total downer that the SP segments do NOTHING to teach MP aspect. Alt Solution: Allow people to play on servers with as little as 1 player and offer “unlocked” servers. One of the training missions should be on spotting. I was playing with some casuals on a server by myself and NO ONE SPOTTED. I think the problem is some people don’t know how or that it is even a feature. I cannot lament how big of an issue this is. Call me an idiot noob but it took me a while to figure out what the T-UGS were. I just got SOFLAM and am like, “Huh?” I am not really sure how to best use the EOD Bot. How the heavy barrel and forearm grip affect my gun is puzzling.
# Destruction. Where did it all go? Solution: Please re-enable mass destruction! Some maps really, really need more destruction. Material penetration also seems to be toned down in a lot of cases.
# Map Design. BF is an open game, but so many infantry maps have these crazy choke points that don’t allow enough destruction to change this dynamic. Solution: bring back more destruction because as it stands these maps aren’t fun. (They play like poorly designed CoD maps to be brutally honest.)
# Not enough Coop Missions. Solution: Offer a substantial DLC offering of coop specific content.
# 4 way (or more!) Coop Missions or Horde/FireFight Waves. Solution: See above. Yeah DICE, we want more of your content! Pat yourself on the back.
# The maps feel small with all the control points so close. Solution: Change the control points so they are more spread out, 3-4 control points should work fine with 24 players (think El Al and Guadal Canal on ’42).
# Getting hung up on objects. I know to sprint and jump but I get caught up on a ton of stuff that isn’t large and there are times it seems there should be no issue scaling a low wall and you cannot. The game would be more fun if it was more clean in this regards. I died twice last night because of this issue. First was a wall that it seemed I should have been able to easily jump. Nope, guess not. 4 or 5 hops later and bang, dead. Later on the map with the control point in the giant mountain cave (not Metro) there was a door way into the long concrete hall and I was stuck and could not enter. Jumping didn’t help. It was so odd. And I died about 3 seconds later. This stuff happens all over the maps. Solution: Patch this issue.
# Menus UI. It needs an overhaul. Both in the layers and design. I have seen a number of people complain about the lack of letter # on the spawn—it is there, but there is just such a disconnect between in game IU and the clutter-fest of the spawn/backend menus I can sympathize with the confusion. See my complaints about upcoming unlocks and new weapons as well as weapon damage/range/rof, etc.
# Gun Data. Look, all I get in the service was a little black box with a 9mm in it. When we talked about shooting and someone getting shot we were talking about needles. I am a gun noob (albeit a pretty accurate one).
# In-game IU. There is just a lot of missing ques—or they aren’t readily visible. E.g. I am flying, how do I know where my throttle setting is set? Or if I am repairing a tank, how do I know what % is repaired? What fire mode is my rifle in? Do I have missiles or guns engaged in my air craft (this one you can learn)? Oh, and the worst offender has to be when you are at a flag in Conquest and the flag counter sits RIGHT in the middle of your screen. I would prefer it hover above the flag or at the very top of the screen. Instead it hovers RIGHT in your cross hairs. Grrr!! Just horrible, horrible flaws. I hope DICE fixes these but I remember the Red-friendly error in BF2 and the mini-map flag sorting issues of past titles. Excuse me while I go and cry in my root beer… (It was pointed out to me that firing mode is 3 dots by the ammo and that in flying the Triggers aren't throttle Up/Down but High/Low and no trigger is normal and right click is afterburtners; there is a very, very small repair meter; and of course the reticle changes for the firing mode on aircraft, you just have to memorize which they are).
# Mini-map. I love what DICE has done with the 3D map—it could almost displace the mini-map. Almost. The current mini-map, notably the lack of map contract and the lack of scaling in and out, is very annoying. Is there a DPAD button that could be used to manually scale it in and out? Throw me bone!
# Command Rose. I wish this made it in so we could communicate with other players better. I love how DICE has really matured in the natural context sensitive interface (hit “Back” on most objects gives a context sensitive command) but this is really missing IMO. This could solve a number of issues. E.g. why not make a command rose where you can do a ton of things: (a) change fire mode (b) zoom mini-map (c) get gadget (d) broadcast message to squad etc.
# Squad Chat. Really?? I guess there are parties on the Xbox… but this is really hampering teamwork. A lot. I had some LOLZ listening to Scott last night seeing support guys everywhere and NO ONE would give ammo. Now if they heard him lamenting this maybe he would get some (Scott, just pick up my gear when I die--I die a lot!).
# The Death Cam is meh. It offers boring angles, a lot of time with significant clipping and texture popping. I would prefer a short 1st person cam or a zoomed out sky view of the area you died. I don’t think the current iteration adds anything to the game. I will say this: For those whining about “campers” watch the stupid death cam. It pretty much tells you where they are at once you learn the map. If you are playing in a squad and paying attention to the death cam campers should never be an issue in this game (unless you are calling peeps defending their flag campers in which case please go play another game).
# Flight Stick Support. Ok, I am dreaming
# Game Recorder. Oh man, I have had so many great experiences I wished I could have later access and uploaded to share.
# Flash Lights. Ok, they are a cool idea. I get it. I even like it. But two things: my annoying teammates who insist in flashing me. Grrr!!! And then the issue of flash lights being really strong in the day light.
# Graphics. This is a love/hate issue that isn’t addressable in BF3 but I wanted to leave some comments. I love the graphics. I hate the graphics. I was on Caspian last night and was just very, very impressed with how beautiful it looks. Nice draw distance, great foliage, water, detail everywhere. Lighting is solid and shadowing is good considering the vastness of the game. I was very impressed. But small maps, especially buildings and particles… are driving me nuts as the IQ gets VERY muddy quickly. I am all for functional over eye candy. I guess I am still in the PC mindset where you remove annoying features, features that hurt performance, etc. I miss the 60Hz from other games. I also miss the cleaner look of previous titles. I loaded up ’43 the other day and all I can say is, “Wow, ’43 is really clean/crisp looking!” BF3 has aliasing all over the place. The worst offender appears to be any object with some HDR effect has crazy aliasing. There is frequent texture flicker, especially on transparencies. The particle effect resolution seems to be low and maps can have a way too strong haze look. SP has the uber annoying dirt and grime all over your goggles all the time with constant reflection bloom. I am a fan of post processing but it seems too low in IQ to produce pleasant results and has come at the cost of texture detail and general IQ—and worst of all, reduced destruction. I know DICE has a forward looking engine aimed at the PC and next gen consoles (Woot! Hurrah! Bravo DICE!) but the console versions have such reduced quality it affects gameplay. It can be very difficult to make a distinction between targets (note: I am getting better at this the more I play, basically shooting anything that lacks blue!) and with LOD even with spotted targets when at a distances the objects (be it tank on tank or air on ground) the IQ is so muddy it is hard to see an object. Solution: Get the PC version? Hey DICE, roll all the BF3 content (DLC) over the next couple years into a new package and make it a console launch product. The engine scales and getting, say, a 60Hz 1080p “Ultra” experience with 64 players on new consoles with all the content, some new MP and Coop content, maybe a new mini-SP story-ette and I would surely buy it.
# Audio… is amazing. But why DICE insists on NPCs in MP throw out constant F-bombs is a joke and insulting (YMMV, I cannot speak for all branches). What is so hard about a little language check box? I can mute the silly kids (thanks MS!) but DICE seems intent on making me listen to this one way or another. Thanks DICE! (/sarcasm)
# A10. Please add it to more Conquest maps.
I am really loving BF3. I don’t have much time to play. It wouldn’t be a proper BF if I didn’t have a ton of things to complain about. Btw, I would ask for 32 players but the current maps don’t have the flags apart enough for that (I hear my PC friends complaining a bit about the map design). Overall DICE did a great job doing throwing a ton of content into a single package and making it work. And work well. There always seems to be a nice stream of available vehicles. Things seem roughly balanced in a positive way.
Thanks for the **great game** and I look forward to future patches and DLC!
Ps- Please don’t be deeply insulted by this, but I really wanted to like the SP. So far I cannot be interested enough to finish. It isn’t that it is horrible—I really like the good cop/bad cop interrogation with mini-action elements, I think this is a wonderful story telling technique for a game—but it is just not very compelling. I may be in the minority, but I would have preferred the mini-sequences to be more conquest/rush style gameplay with bots where you could use/train with the MP weapons. Toss in that each can be played as 4 way coop and I say we are all good. Some sections, like the phenomenal visual / auditory treat that is the air craft carrier, are so disconnected in gameplay from the MP (and sorry, BORING) that I just cringe when I think about replaying. I am sure some market analysis says you have to have this killer SP experience but I am sure you have heard what the critics are saying. Going with a great script linking together various military adventures that are coop friendly and tied to the MP experience would be different, useful, and pleasant. Don’t try to out-COD Activision. Hint: Some of us pre-ordered BF3 and skipped BLOPs and will be skipping MW3. Some of us think you can best COD by being different. The SP is far too derivative IMO, and it doesn’t stack up as well IMO. And that doesn’t say much when I have no intention of getting those other titles. At least DICE knows where it is at: DISK1 is the MP!