DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta "Mission Accomplished"

IGN quotes DICE creative director Lars Gustavsson on the topic of the Battlefield 3 open beta test. As far as putting the military shooter sequel through its paces, he's making a note here, "huge success":
"Looking at the open beta, for us at DICE it's truly been a huge success," said Gustavsson. "We could have been better in how we messaged this to the community, what we were doing and why it's not as polished as a final demo but there is a reason we called it a beta and not a demo."

"This test was done so we would get as many eyes as possible on the game code to ensure a good release, and that means hammering the back end, seeing that the servers hold up, making sure we get all the telemetry we need, that all the hooks are working and also getting a good first take on the balancing of the game. What is the score progression? How are people doing?

"But of course also Origin and Battlelog, all of these things that we need to get ready for the final ship. So for us it's been really useful and I would really say mission accomplished. Once again, yes, there is a vocal community out there but I wouldn't like to have it any other way. It's dedication and passion when people speak up and there's nothing wrong with passion."
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73 Replies. 4 pages. Viewing page 3.
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33.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 13:37
33.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 13:37
Oct 17, 2011, 13:37
 
Fun beta, and with the recent sale on Amazon, it was a easy decision to pre-order.
32.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 13:34
32.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 13:34
Oct 17, 2011, 13:34
 
Verno wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 12:59:

To me that’s absurd logic. Your choice on buying it or not, but basing a decision on what you think you saw does not make any sense at all.

"What you think you saw" is probably the most hilarious thing I've seen posted in awhile. Yes how dare people make decisions based on actual play experience, they should observe the version number at all times and instead imagine what retail will be like. They treated it like a demo, not a beta. Second, most people don't give a shit about the SP game so obviously they would base their decision on how the multiplayer plays. EA isn't doing a "demo" at release so this is what people have to go on, if it confusing why people are deciding whether or not to buy the game then you aren't thinking hard enough.
/me gives Verno a cookie for typing my reply for me.
31.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 13:33
31.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 13:33
Oct 17, 2011, 13:33
 
Here's a good, lengthy post at Reddit re changes from beta from a guy who played final at GeForce LAN 6:

Reddit

Edit: Oops was posted earlier...

This comment was edited on Oct 17, 2011, 14:36.
30.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 13:27
30.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 13:27
Oct 17, 2011, 13:27
 
Bhruic wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 13:14:
My only beef is with the people who are concluding the final version is going to "suck" based on the beta. And in that area, Darks is right - none of us have seen the final. Taking a wait-and-see attitude is fine, but it'd be nice if people would lay off the pre-judging. Judge the final product by the actual final product, not conjecture about what it'll be like.

The people canceling their pre-orders ARE taking a wait-and-see approach rather than prejudging. If the word of mouth post-launch is better than the bad word of mouth now they'll buy it. But they played the offering in part and didn't like it and aren't committing just yet.


This is also why many companies aren't fans of open beta testing. And why most companies don't do open beta testing until the very final stage of development. Then again, this game comes out what, a month after the beta ended? How drastically different do people expect it to be?
29.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 13:26
29.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 13:26
Oct 17, 2011, 13:26
 
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Avatar 12787
28.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 13:23
28.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 13:23
Oct 17, 2011, 13:23
 
Bhruic wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 13:14:
I have no problem with people who have decided to cancel pre-orders based on the beta, so this isn't really aimed at you, just using your quote. There's nothing wrong with deciding to wait to see what the final version is like, and whether they've cleared up a lot of issues with the beta. My only beef is with the people who are concluding the final version is going to "suck" based on the beta. And in that area, Darks is right - none of us have seen the final. Taking a wait-and-see attitude is fine, but it'd be nice if people would lay off the pre-judging. Judge the final product by the actual final product, not conjecture about what it'll be like.

That goes both ways though, a lot of people are making assumptions both positive and negative about the supposed final product. I think people can be forgiven for either perspective depending on how their experience in the multiplayer demo was however.
Avatar 51617
27.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 13:14
27.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 13:14
Oct 17, 2011, 13:14
 
Yes how dare people make decisions based on actual play experience, they should observe the version number at all times and instead imagine what retail will be like.

I have no problem with people who have decided to cancel pre-orders based on the beta, so this isn't really aimed at you, just using your quote. There's nothing wrong with deciding to wait to see what the final version is like, and whether they've cleared up a lot of issues with the beta. My only beef is with the people who are concluding the final version is going to "suck" based on the beta. And in that area, Darks is right - none of us have seen the final. Taking a wait-and-see attitude is fine, but it'd be nice if people would lay off the pre-judging. Judge the final product by the actual final product, not conjecture about what it'll be like.
26.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 13:03
26.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 13:03
Oct 17, 2011, 13:03
 
First off, you played the MP beta, not the SP portion of the game. You haven’t even seen the game or what it’s really like. The MP beta has nothing to do with the final code in the SP game. So your logic is seriously flawed.

This is a MP series, not a SP series, and early reports on the SP experience haven't been favorable.

So of course people judge it on the MP.



Typical DICE game, in any case. Yes, I feel obligated to say that. Man I can't stand the feel of their games.
25.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta "Mission Accomplished"
Oct 17, 2011, 13:00
25.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta "Mission Accomplished" Oct 17, 2011, 13:00
Oct 17, 2011, 13:00
 
I'm also looking forward to release. I thought the beta went relatively well and look forward to seeing all the maps and playing with my clan mates. To me, battlelog is a pretty smart idea. Social networking is obviously huge right now and they are trying to appeal to the masses. I would also assume that it will be a matter of time before someone comes up with a way to implement a shortcut on your desktop that takes you right into a favorite server, bypassing the need to mess around in battlelog.
24.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 12:59
24.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 12:59
Oct 17, 2011, 12:59
 

To me that’s absurd logic. Your choice on buying it or not, but basing a decision on what you think you saw does not make any sense at all.

"What you think you saw" is probably the most hilarious thing I've seen posted in awhile. Yes how dare people make decisions based on actual play experience, they should observe the version number at all times and instead imagine what retail will be like. They treated it like a demo, not a beta. Second, most people don't give a shit about the SP game so obviously they would base their decision on how the multiplayer plays. EA isn't doing a "demo" at release so this is what people have to go on, if it confusing why people are deciding whether or not to buy the game then you aren't thinking hard enough.
Avatar 51617
23.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 12:56
23.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 12:56
Oct 17, 2011, 12:56
 
necrosis wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 12:30:
qsto wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 12:16:
Verno wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 10:59:
It was definitely useful to me, I decided to skip the game based on the beta
I'll just leave this here...
If that is true why did Dice leave the testers with a hideously old code base causing people to think the game is a unpolished turd? It just defies logic to me.

I’m confused by your comments about the beta and that is why you are skipping the game.

First off, you played the MP beta, not the SP portion of the game. You haven’t even seen the game or what it’s really like. The MP beta has nothing to do with the final code in the SP game. So your logic is seriously flawed.

No one has seen the final code for the game, not even the beta testers. All you guys got was a taste of the beta and all you guys pretty much did was give them the information they needed about the engine and compatibility issues. That’s it!!

I don’t see how anyone can make any kind of decision based on MP code.

To me that’s absurd logic. Your choice on buying it or not, but basing a decision on what you think you saw does not make any sense at all.
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22.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 12:51
22.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 12:51
Oct 17, 2011, 12:51
 
elefunk wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 12:23:
Creston wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 11:17:
Bucky wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 11:15:
but I do think the web-based browsing/launching system is a good idea, and could really be good if they tighten it up a bit more.

Just out of curiosity, why do you think it's a good idea? It seems needlessly cumbersome to me.

Creston
For me personally, I liked it far better than any server browser that DICE has ever produced. The length of time between clicking a server and getting in game wasn't longer, and before looking at servers, I didn't need to sit through an array of splash screens either. Nor did I need to go through some weird hack or tweak of deleting splash screen videos or modifying my launch script to circumvent splash screens.

It was even faster for me than getting into a game of Team Fortress 2. I saved a favorite place on my browser to Battlelog, so whenever I wanted to play BF3, I'd click that favorite place, and seconds later be joining a server. Without needing to load the game first, the entire process was much faster.

And finally, the simple fact that they can update Battlelog without releasing a full Client patch means that whatever issues that do exist will be fixed much quicker. Throughout the first few days of the beta, they released 5-6 updates that fixed most of the issues people were encountering.

That covers most of it. I think the true strength of the system will be the ease of updates for DICE. They'll be able to add features and improvements without the same amount of development effort it would take to do it in-game.

I'm the kind of person that likes to look at stats, mess with loadouts, and sometimes just check to see if a favorite server has anyone playing. Having all of this outside of the actual game makes the process quicker and easier, and I can have the game loading silently in the background if I do choose to play. Moving everything except what's required for gameplay outside of the game code would be fine with me, provided it's done right.

I'll grant that change, just for the sake of change, isn't necessarily good unless they provide a greater feature set than they could from an in-game system. So far, that seems to be the case. There's also the legitimate concern that the entire system could shut down when EA determines that BF3's life is over, but that's not a concern for me since I usually don't stick with a multiplayer game for more than a couple of years.
21.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 12:30
21.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 12:30
Oct 17, 2011, 12:30
 
BF2 had great keybinds and joystick support. Very fond memories of dodging missiles and skirting between buildings and pulling of some crazy maneuvers in my Cobra with a competent gunner. The flight with the joystick just felt "right" in that game.

BC2's support was the worst I've ever seen in this regard though. It reversed the rudder axis, and you had to do some funky work-arounds to fix it - even then, the sensitivity and deadbanding was fubared, I just didn't feel like putting anymore effort into it.

Come on, I'm sure just a few of your programmers working on simple joystick input for A DAY would be perfectly sufficient, that is if you could ever stop sucking on thumbsticks.
20.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 12:30
20.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 12:30
Oct 17, 2011, 12:30
 
qsto wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 12:16:
Verno wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 10:59:
It was definitely useful to me, I decided to skip the game based on the beta
I'll just leave this here...
If that is true why did Dice leave the testers with a hideously old code base causing people to think the game is a unpolished turd? It just defies logic to me.
19.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 12:25
19.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 12:25
Oct 17, 2011, 12:25
 
The one thing I learned from the beta was to cancel my pre-order. Yes, it was beta code, I understand that. But the game itself did absolutely nothing for me. After playing the beta for roughly 5 hours I had no desire to play the game at all. I even used the passwords that were floating around at the time to play the Caspian Border map, still nothing. I also didn't particularly care for the who Origin thing either. When I click a game icon on my desktop I want it to launch the game, not a browser... I'm not trying to play farmville, I'm trying to play Battlefield for fucks sake.
18.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 12:23
18.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 12:23
Oct 17, 2011, 12:23
 
Creston wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 11:17:
Bucky wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 11:15:
but I do think the web-based browsing/launching system is a good idea, and could really be good if they tighten it up a bit more.

Just out of curiosity, why do you think it's a good idea? It seems needlessly cumbersome to me.

Creston
For me personally, I liked it far better than any server browser that DICE has ever produced. The length of time between clicking a server and getting in game wasn't longer, and before looking at servers, I didn't need to sit through an array of splash screens either. Nor did I need to go through some weird hack or tweak of deleting splash screen videos or modifying my launch script to circumvent splash screens.

It was even faster for me than getting into a game of Team Fortress 2. I saved a favorite place on my browser to Battlelog, so whenever I wanted to play BF3, I'd click that favorite place, and seconds later be joining a server. Without needing to load the game first, the entire process was much faster.

And finally, the simple fact that they can update Battlelog without releasing a full Client patch means that whatever issues that do exist will be fixed much quicker. Throughout the first few days of the beta, they released 5-6 updates that fixed most of the issues people were encountering.
17.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta "Mission Accomplished"
Oct 17, 2011, 12:23
17.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta "Mission Accomplished" Oct 17, 2011, 12:23
Oct 17, 2011, 12:23
 
After playing the beta I can safely say I won't be getting the game at release. I just didn't enjoy it as much as BF2 or BC2. And it's illogical to have Battlelog only accessible out-of-game. At the very least it should use an overlay in Origin, like Steam, to access it. It's great to have a server browser accessible out of the game but it NEEDS to be accessible in-game. But not being on Steam and requiring Origin is the killer for me. I find I don't play games like Starcraft II as often as I would normally because it uses a different service.

Don't get me wrong. I would really LOVE to see Origin be a truly competitive platform to rival Steam, as it could be really good competition. But it needs to do so based upon its merits, not upon exclusive deals. And yes, while Steamworks games offer good benefits I'd rather not see games tied to Steam but rather ALSO available on Steam, as well as taking advantage of the platform (achievements, matchmaking, etc). EA is the underdog here and they need to do more than withhold access to Steam - they need to offer exclusive extras not available elsewhere to make people want to use it. I appreciate that HL2 forced Steam upon people but nothing else was offering the same service at the time. That's different now.
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
Avatar 22891
16.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 12:16
16.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 12:16
Oct 17, 2011, 12:16
 
Verno wrote on Oct 17, 2011, 10:59:
It was definitely useful to me, I decided to skip the game based on the beta
I'll just leave this here...
15.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 12:10
15.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 12:10
Oct 17, 2011, 12:10
 
I didn't like the web based server browser because it just didn't work very well for me, I couldn't use any of the filters for a start, if I checked a box it would immediately un-check itself.

You have to wonder why game makers just can't seem to get server browsers right by now, games made in the late 90's like UT had much better browsers than most games get nowadays!
14.
 
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta
Oct 17, 2011, 12:05
14.
Re: DICE: Battlefield 3 Beta Oct 17, 2011, 12:05
Oct 17, 2011, 12:05
 
Even ID admitted console was their primary skew were they not the last bastion of PC FPS makers..lol oh gawd..
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