Initial Battlefield 3 Open Beta Impressions

[4204ME]

I have only a little time in so far just a PFC. I have played every BF release. I feel that this release is an improvement so far as the ground pounding goes to all other releases. I am still waiting for vehicle time so don't know about it yet. I find the lobby interface confusing and kinda broken rightnow. Seems to prefer certain browsers. I thin this guy may actually be speaking truth here we will see.


 Patrick Bach executive producer for BF3:  BF3 will have the deepest perstance in the franchise history...

So far some differences between BF3 and BFBC2. You can't run and gun for crap. Bunny hopping doesn't help.  This game seems to play slow and careful rather than sprint and spray. I like it.

[Mitchpate]

As has been said, what we're playing right now is probably the least like BF its going to be.

I'm always weary when I hear developers and beta testers say this because they're almost always wrong about it.  Seems to me if you're going to put out a map for open beta they'd do it with the map they feel will be most popular once the game is released, not some random smaller map that has a completely different feel.

Right now this kiddie rush mode is here so I can get used to the game again before the real game starts. I won't be playing rush ever again most likely because they're capped at 32 players I believe.

If you want to advance in rank, you'll play rush.  Or a 24/7 high-ticket vehicle map.  Those are much faster paced with a much greater potential for high kill counts.  Playing nothing but regular conquest will snag you a high KDR but you won't rack up the points nearly as well.

I've yet to see a commander... its done away with still I guess? :/

Doing away with the commander was in one of the original press releases for the game.

[=KoS= Tripod]

@ 420

I can run and gun all day in this game. Just sneak to a good flanking position and BAM! 5 kill streak before they even know what's up

Grenades are a bit odd as you can't cook 'em, but they still get the job done pretty well. Nothing like throwing a nade in one of the later underground objectives, blowing up two dudes, shooting the last in the face and planting before somehow managing to singlehandedly fend off the other 3-5 guys who show up and blow the thing all by yourself

Of course, you end up just getting shot in the face yourself a pretty good amount of the time so you gotta be careful and really try to lone wolf near "funnel zones" where there are a few tight enterances (preferrably chill in a place where you can watch all/most of them) so when they do figure out there's a dude behind their lines, they can't use their numbers or surround you as they gotta go through 1-3 places you're covering and scan the entire area/room for you while you already know where they are

You're right about bunny hopping and the lobby interface. I can't even join a game at all unless I use the  main page quick join thing and even then it always throws me into either a really laggy server or one that gets laggy about halfway through the match

[xInVicTuSx]

@Mitch,

From a design perspective I know what you mean, thinking the game will massively change/improve in the time between the beta and release is hoping against hope most of the time. That isn't really what I meant however, all the things that I know for certain will be in the release aren't in yet, as I said, 64 man servers, vehicles, etc. The basic feel of the game won't change that drastically so I'm glad its not super annoying or bad or anything already.

As for score, as I said, I played bf2 for 989 hours and only made Colonel, you can't keep up with people who really want to point farm so what is the point? I like conquest better from BF2 so I will probably play it most in Bf3. That said, I might give rush a try more as I found it funner than conquest in BC2... but then again BC2 was shit.... 

@Trip,

I don't know yet how run and gun it is, definitely its more run and gun than BF2 was in some ways because you can sprint for what feels like ages, on the other hand no one bunny hops, while in BF2 i was customary to jump and spin if you met someone face to face when running around a corner to get some space between you, have not seen that happen in this game yet. But there are certain things like how big of aim penalty you get for transferring back and forth from crouch to prone to standing and the like. As I've said, snipers feel VERY run and gun right now... but all I've seen are the basic ones in more or less close quarter combat. I prefer slower paced always when it comes to FPS, so I'm watching this carefully, but its just too early to tell.

[Mitchpate]

but then again BC2 was shit

Not really.  I actually enjoyed not having to spend 300 hours trying to unlock weapons.  The unlock system is going to be so boring and repetitive it's silly.

[xInVicTuSx]

It wasn't that bad... yeah it took forever to unlock ALL the weapons. But if you planned out which ones you want you could get them all in the first couple weeks. At least that's how I did it. But yeah, the unlock system this time around is quite strange.

[Sean Lang "Phil"]

Still can't play. Seems there are a ton of others with the exact issue, bf3.exe just closes, and I'm stuck at loading server....

Unfortunate because I was really looking forward to playing...

[=KoS= Tripod]

Using crap cleaner or a similar program seems to work for me, the battle log website does some weird shit ad at one point I actually had 7 google chromes open but could only see one (the others I found in task manager)

[xInVicTuSx]

Nvivia drivers are crashing too much for me to really play...

<- sad panda. 

[Aidan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QzxLKSX8os

[-AAA-]

Pretty fun so far after about 4 hours of play time, but all the crashing is getting a bit annoying and even at 60+ FPS, the game still feels choppy/jittery.  Still, most of the weapons have a great "feel" to them, though the damage seems a bit anemic for certain few.

[xInVicTuSx]

The only balance gripe I have so far is the SVD has no recoil... you can ROFL burst and kill some dude instantly because you can keep the scope on him so easy.

[4204ME]

BTW game would not work for me in firefox...

I can't run and gun for shit in this... Now mind you I am eternally flanking and running off alone to get killed its just how I play but I can't kill shit while moving yet..

[=KoS= Tripod]

The only balance gripe I have so far is the SVD has no recoil... you can ROFL burst and kill some dude instantly because you can keep the scope on him so easy.

Yeah, I killed a squad of 3 all rushing me at the same time at like 20 meters in like 2.5 seconds
That thing is waaay better at close range than it needs to be (I still switch to pistol out of habit though)

BTW game would not work for me in firefox...

I can't run and gun for shit in this... Now mind you I am eternally flanking and running off alone to get killed its just how I play but I can't kill shit while moving yet..

Make sure to use iron sights pretty much whenever you shoot

Gives you a huge advantage while still maintaining good mobility by only doing it as you're firing (line up the shot while running, not after zooming in so you spend the least amount of time possible in slow walk mode)

[Mitchpate]

Most of the snipers in BFBC2 were good at close range with dot sights.  In hardcore mode it was about the surest kill short of a shotgun slug.