Battlefield 4

[Scott Tortorice]

Umm...yawn?

[video=youtube;U8HVQXkeU8U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=U8HVQXkeU8U[/video]

Nothing in that vid impressed me. It looks like a campaign expansion for BF3, rather than an entirely new entry to the BF franchise. Yet another scripted campaign; yet another series of hanging by your fingertips/having big objects fall on you; yet another bump in graphics to no good purpose. Boooring. About the only thing that caught my eye were the squad commands - reminds me a bit of Op Flashpoint...but, of course, Op Flashpoint had an open, sandbox campaign. Guess DICE was too busy bumping up the graphics to really offer anything new in terms of a SP campaign.

I find it ironic that the early comments on this video are all along the line of "this is going to kill COD!". Umm...how? As we've seen over the course of BF3 development, BF is slowly morphing into COD. Scripted campaigns with over-the-top action sequences; EA/DICE pumping out new BF/Medal of Honor entries to the series every other year; DLC that is dripped-dripped-dripped out to get every last dollar from the fanbase before rushing off to the next entry to the series. I know PC gamers like to pretend that BF3 is a proper PC game (I say pretend because BF2 was the last true PC entry to the franchise), but barring graphics, EA's handling of BF is now almost indistinguishable from how Activision is handling CoD. While BF3 was quite the jump from BF2 (but not that big a jump from Bad Company 2), BF4, based on this vid, seems to be an almost indistinguishable step.

I'll keep an open mind, especially since I haven't seen anything of the all important MP yet, but the SP campaign is not making me excited.

If BI can get their act together by putting together a decent MP component into Arma 3 (I mean an MP mode that has lots of public servers with standard gameplay modes like conquest, etc. that CoD and BF players will instantly recognize), I think there is a big opportunity for that game to become the new, preferred FPS experience.

 

[Dr Zaius]

The graphics engine looks pretty badass.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

Why do I suspect the general reaction to the recent SP demo was not as positive as they hoped? I know I wasn't impressed.

DICE: “We’ve passed the point” of showing off Frostbite’s tech

Battlefield 4′s shiny reveal earlier this week in a gameplay trailer that provided a 17-minute window into the visuals of a fully armed and operational Frostbite 3 engine, but DICE is discouraging players and press from focusing too much on BF4′s eye candy. In an interview with Eurogamer, Executive Producer Patrick Bach states a raw display of Frostbite tech isn’t enough to attract gamers anymore, with more importance lying with how the studio intends to use the engine to advance the gameplay experience.

And then Bach proceeds to outline a trite theme for the SP campaign in BF4:

“To us, it’s like, how do we evolve the gameplay?” he explains. “How do we evolve the narrative? How do we evolve the things around the technology? How do we make it more Battlefield? So, moving elements from multiplayer into single-player is one way of evolving it. How do you get people to care about the characters, is also lifting the bar, rather than just doing the stereotypical stupid shooter, where you don’t care about the missions or why you’re doing what you’re doing, and why do these guys around you even exist?”

Again, I am starting to suspect that the purpose for a BF4 is unclear even for DICE.

 

[kawaiku]

Again, I am starting to suspect that the purpose for a BF4 is unclear even for DICE.

Lol! "How do we make it more b..'scuse me' *cough* Battlefield?" Is it that hard?? I mean really? I'm serious! How do you make a ba...Battlefield game a Battlefield game? I dunno... uhhh. No singleplayer campaign outside of adding bots to the maps used in the multiplayer aspect of it.... and uuhh... Having lots of big maps in a variety of locations with unique factions waging merciless war against each other. I thought that was a Battlefield game?? At least that's what it was the last time I played it. The only characters I cared about was how my team setup an ambush 200m outside an enemy control point and how long we held until relieved or we were all killed. And then did aaaall over again.

Seriously... how is "How do we make it more Battlefield?" a legitimate question for this franchise? It should not even have been asked in the first place. :hmmm:

Remember the good 'ole days?
[video=youtube;Tb8PQXPOkCc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb8PQXPOkCc[/video]

[video=youtube;UUD9zaCaSqk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUD9zaCaSqk[/video]

(Sadly I missed out on this one )
[video=youtube;Mk4wEAO07hM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk4wEAO07hM[/video]

 

[Scott Tortorice]

Lol! "How do we make it more b..'scuse me' *cough* Battlefield?" Is it that hard?? I mean really? I'm serious! How do you make a ba...Battlefield game a Battlefield game? I dunno... uhhh. No singleplayer campaign outside of adding bots to the maps used in the multiplayer aspect of it.... and uuhh... Having lots of big maps in a variety of locations with unique factions waging merciless war against each other. I thought that was a Battlefield game?? At least that's what it was the last time I played it. The only characters I cared about was how my team setup an ambush 200m outside an enemy control point and how long we held until relieved or we were all killed. And then did aaaall over again.

Seriously... how is "How do we make it more Battlefield?" a legitimate question for this franchise? It should not even have been asked in the first place. :hmmm:

Spot on! +1 Your comments matched many of those in the comments section for the SP reveal and the above article. People don't care about more pixels, or yet another unimaginative SP campaign, they just want BF4 to be BF3 but with more elements from BF2. Is that so hard?!? DICE could have saved themselves all that money they invested in the new gfx engine and just improved the gameplay elements in BF3. Heck, like I wrote above, we didn't even need a new BF for that, just an expansion pack. But I suppose DICE wouldn't be able to charge $60 for that, plus $50 for a premium pass....

That is what really annoys me about BF4. Ultimately, I believe I got my moneys worth from BF3...but I am not prepared to fork over another $110 just a few months after the last map pack was released, especially seeing how BF4 looks to be just a prettier BF3.

I really hope we get some new indie shooters soon. Activision and EA have decided that their two popular franchises are an excuse to milk their fans on a regular basis with just minor changes and enhancements.

But again, it is too early to write off BF4. Maybe they have made some important changes to the core MP game and just messed up by focusing on graphics and SP gameplay for the reveal. We'll see....

 

[Dr Zaius]

EA seems hellbent on telling players what kind of games they want to play.

 

[wrinkle]

It'll be huge! Do you know PC minimum requirements?

 

[kawaiku]

Creating a single player experience for a series that never focused on single player storytelling in the first place is probably one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of. Morons.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

EA seems hellbent on telling players what kind of games they want to play.

Even though I hate trash TV, this is true:

View attachment 40168

BF3 didn't feel fixed to me until the fourth content pack - over a full year past its release.

Creating a single player experience for a series that never focused on single player storytelling in the first place is probably one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of. Morons.

I don't understand it, either. Even Call of Duty has been slowly whittling down the SP campaigns to mere appetizers. For EA to lead off the BF4 reveal with a SP push is silly. I can only conclude that this is the continuation of EA's desperation to become the new CoD. They want to capture the magic of the early CoD campaigns that really put that series on the map. Unfortunately, nobody really plays CoD for the SP campaign anymore, so what's the point?

 

[kawaiku]

I don't understand it, either. Even Call of Duty has been slowly whittling down the SP campaigns to mere appetizers. For EA to lead off the BF4 reveal with a SP push is silly. I can only conclude that this is the continuation of EA's desperation to become the new CoD. They want to capture the magic of the early CoD campaigns that really put that series on the map. Unfortunately, nobody really plays CoD for the SP campaign anymore, so what's the point?

Weirdly, by the time United Offensive rolled around most people were just playing the MP and very few actually played the SP campaign. I did until I discovered you could play MP for free (I was naive around the time it came out, cut me some slack will ya aperbag. And by the time CoD 2 rolled around no one played the SP campaign anymore. Not to mention BF 1942 came out sometime then (kinda forgot when tbh). Also, you could still mod the game then. I played on all sorts of servers with some really great maps and also frequented the realism and sniper servers. Had some good times back then.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

So the BF4 MP reveal was today:

[video=youtube_share;3nJY7n8KaOY]http://youtu.be/3nJY7n8KaOY[/video]

Again, eh. I mean, it does look like fun, but is it really any different from BF3? Nope. Only a few things caught my attention:

1) Small arms tracer fire: Nice, but not exactly a reason for a new game.
2) Multiple level buildings: Nice, but I suspect that only certain buildings will have multiple levels. And really, that building in the vid only had three: basement, main lobby, and the top floor. So three levels on a high rise. Yippee.
3) Destructible floors and buildings: Again, I suspect this is only going to be possible on specific buildings/locales. I doubt very much we will be able to bring down any building we choose, and collapse any floor. So, big wup until I hear otherwise.
4) Commander mode: I know a lot of people wanted this, but I think people are only recalling this mode's better aspects. I recall nothing but flame wars over who should be a commander, and commanders who only helped their clanmates. I am not at all thrilled about the return of this mode.

Like I wrote above, this seems like BF4 is really going to be BF3.5 - just some incremental improvements to the base formula. I definitely will be getting it - I love this franchise too much not to, but I also recognize that this seems to be little more than a cash grab by EA. I still remain much more impressed by Titanfall (which I guess is why DICE isn't working on a Battlefield 2134).

 

[kawaiku]

I've been hearing the same thing about BF4. That it's just an overpriced DLC being billed as the next installment in the franchise.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

Look who is giving BF4 a try:

View attachment 41222

Could a BF4 movie be in the works?

 

[kawaiku]

Look who is giving BF4 a try:

View attachment 41222

Could a BF4 movie be in the works?

I'd prefer he actually finishes his Masters of the Air series and then do a mini-series on Team Yankee.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

As a Premium member of BF3, I've been in the BF4 beta before it went open season yesterday. I haven't written about it yet though because...well, I am not really all that impressed. As I wrote above before even trying the game, BF4 strikes me as little more than BF3.5. Some thoughts:

1) We've only got to try the Shanghai map, but based on that I have to say the DICE's "levelution" is not much to write home about. Wow, we get to knock down one building on an entire map. Yippee. I was hoping that the rest of the map would feature more dynamic destruction even if we couldn't destroy a second building, but nope. Nothing like Bad Company 2's dynamic destruction. Yet again. :nada: All we get is the occasional streetlight, concrete barrier, etc. Even all the glowing electronic billboards that are on every building are immune from destruction.

2) DICE has given us another game with big but empty buildings - and by "big" I mean big in height, but not interior space. We are back to two level skyscrapers. I am also so sick and tired of fighting my way inside of some sort of office and finding a single desk and chair. It is so darn FAKE. DICE could learn a lot from CoD and RO2 when it comes to creating believable interiors that are fun to fight over.

3) I am finding the battles to be rather boring on this map, too. I don't know why this is, but it seems that the players get swallowed up by the map, leading to small groups of 2-3 people fighting it out CoD style, rather than the high intensity fights that were common in BC2 and BF3 (once it got going with some of the better map packs). I manage to play 1 or 2 games before I find myself going back to RO2 out of boredom (and that says a lot about both games!)

4) The graphics are sharper, and but for an occasional stutter on my machine, it runs fine. I was gratified to see that unlike the dramatic change from BC2 to BF3, I can run BF3 and BF4 on the same graphic settings. As for that stutter, it seems other people are getting it to, along with frame rate drops when scoping, for example. This suggests a bug of some sort, so I hope the get it sorted out...along with the gazillion other bugs found in the beta so far (my favorite: patrol boats on the top of buildings! LOL!)

5) The best thing I can say about BF4 is that I am loving the addition of PLA forces! So tired of fighting Russians in every modern shooter. Also, I like how DICE went with a near future setting, leading to the incorporation of some next-gen weaponry. It isn't as far fetched as Black Ops 2, but it is clearly next gen stuff.

And those are my impressions. I was tempted to pre-order this game - heck, I know it is only a matter of time before I get it - but I am seriously thinking about not doing that. Considering the game is launching in just under four weeks, this open beta is incredibly buggy, so I think launch day is going to be another Rome 2 fiasco. What is more, as I wrote above the game is just not really grabbing me. It feels too much like an expansion for BF3 than some fresh new experience. Why should I pay $60 for that? Might as well wait and pay a more reasonably $40.

Anyway, I am going to be playing a bunch more, so maybe the game will grow on me and/or get the bug fixing and enhancements it needs. Be that as it may, I fear I was correct when I said that the fans of Battlefield can no longer mock CoD fans for buying the same game over and over again....

 

[Scott Tortorice]

Looks like my initial impressions were right in retrospect. With that in mind:

Battlefield 4 spotlights EA's inability to launch games, treat players with dignity

There is no sin greater in gaming than wasting the player’s time.

We can earn more money, we can buy more games, we can forget about the bad experiences playing certain titles, but time is irreplaceable. Once spent, it can never be returned.

If nothing else, Battlefield 4 has wasted the time of many, many players.

The game was released on October 29 in North America and it still doesn’t work. Certain issues on certain platforms have gotten better, but we're now a few days into 2014 and events are still being postponed. Issues are still being reported. My Twitter feed is littered with reports of players being booted from online games or their progress in the single-player campaign being deleted.

There is a class-action lawsuit alleging that EA oversold the strength of Battlefield 4, allowing the company's stock to rise and "senior executives to sell their Electronic Arts stock at artificially inflated prices." The idea in the lawsuit being that EA couldn’t have been ignorant of the fact that Battlefield 4 was barely functional at launch, and statements claiming the game would do well amounted to a high-level "pump and dump" scheme.

...

While some platforms have had only minor problems, others have had more than their fair share of issues. Resolving the launch issues is our #1 priority," DICE CEO Karl Magnus Troedsson wrote in a blog post. "In fact, we are so serious that we have the entire team working to stabilize the game and we will not move on to other projects until we are sure that Battlefield 4 meets — and exceeds — your expectations. It is the right thing to do."

This sort of wording — the way DICE distances itself from the issues and doesn't take responsibility for the problems — should make your blood boil. They’re not fixing the game, it wasn’t in a car accident. We weren’t driving it recklessly. They are finishing the product they shipped in a non-working state. We’re expected to take the news that work on other games and expansions has stopped until Battlefield 4 is working as a kind of favor, instead of the truth: They are fulfilling their obligation to deliver a functional game months after we paid for it.

Is there any possible reality where EA and DICE didn’t know that the game was non-functional when they shipped it? Can you imagine any other industry that allows products this hobbled to be knowingly sold months after release?

This also applies to Egosoft and Creative Assembly. Like I blogged, the gaming industry has become disreputable in many ways.

So glad I trusted my instincts on BF4. I blame Spielberg.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

Now, I don't have a game design degree, but aren't you supposed to develop the netcode first and then publish the game?

http://www.bluesnews.com/s/149570/dice-addressing-bf-netcode

DICE Addressing BF "Netcode"


A new post on The Battlefield Blog talks about work on the "netcode" in Battlefield 4, with the title of the post providing the quotation marks, though probably not ironically. It's a lengthy post that goes into details about network problems they have already addressed, as well as other connectivity-related issues they are still investigating in the military shooter sequel. Here's the overview:

We are working on fixing glitches in your immediate interactions with the game world: the way you move and shoot, the feedback when you’re hit, and the way other players’ actions are shown on your screen.

The game receives updates from the game server and displays these to the player using a system called latency compensation – this system makes sure players move around naturally on your screen when network updates arrive. We have found and fixed several issues with latency compensation, and thereby decreased the impressions of “one hit kills” in the game.

We have also fixed several issues that could lead to rubber banding, and we are working on fixing several more. Below you’ll find a detailed list of the issues we are focusing on, or have already adjusted in-game. We hope this gives you more insight into the “netcode” issues and we will continue to keep you updated on top issues.

I think BF4 is in big trouble because I saw something the other day you don't normally see almost five months out from release: a commercial for the game on TV! It was like they were attempting to relaunch BF4 all over again. Not a good sign.

I really think there is a huge potential for Titanfall here. CoD:Ghosts landed like a wet pancake on the PC, and BF4 is so screwed up it is unlikely it will ever get its player-base back to the levels that BF3 enjoyed (read the comments in the above article for an example of the disgust being shown by former fans). I wouldn't be surprised to see lots of CoD and BF refugees flooding into TF in coming weeks. I just wish EA wasn't the publisher. Both EA and Activision deserve to take a stinging rebuke from gamers. Sadly, EA is poised to win big with TF.

BTW: I just heard a report that Visceral Games helped DICE make BF4. Never heard that before. Seems to confirm that BF4 was just too big a project for the studio, especially given the launch window.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

It only took seven months rolleyes, but it looks like DICE finally got BF4 working the way it should:

[video=youtube;MooojiuDRgw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MooojiuDRgw[/video]

For the first time the comments concerning the state of BF4 have swung from mostly negative to mostly positive. Seems like this latest patch was a big hit.

Maybe it is time to jump into what was once my favorite shooter. I see Amazon has the physical copy on sale for $20: http://smile.amazon.com/Battlefield-4-Online-Game-Code/dp/B00BXONG7G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401868077&sr=8-1&keywords=battlefield+4+pc

Of course, that doesn't include all the DLC.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

Now that I can say BF4 is fit for duty, I am excited to see this trailer for the next DLC:

[video=youtube;tNDAvREdeLY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNDAvREdeLY[/video]

And it looks like DICE is attempting a re-launch of sorts with this Battlefest announcement:

Battlefest is just a small token of our appreciation and commitment to Battlefield 4. In addition to this, we have DICE teams in Stockholm and LA continually working on improving the gameplay experience, adding new initiatives like the CTE environment, and also developing the next two expansions packs, with Battlefield 4 Dragon’s Teeth releasing next week for Battlefield 4 Premium members.


To get Battlefest started, we’re giving everyone a weekend of double XP from July 12-13, so if you need to level up your game, now is a good time to start or get back into the game. The 12th also marks the first day of our daily contest (called Battleshots), where we’re asking you to send us a screenshot in Battlefield 4 based on a different theme requirement. Each daily winning entry will receive an AMD graphics card, $50 gift card to the DICE Store, and a Battlefield 4 Premium membership on their platform of choice. We’re excited to see what you send in and will be altering the screenshot theme request daily until August 13 for more chances to win. Official announcement to come; official rules can be found here.


Beyond the daily Battleshots contest, check out these other initiatives we’ll be doing during Battlefest.


- Free Camo Unlocks
Each week we will be releasing a free camo in-game for all players. This will give you more ways to standout on the battlefield.


- Double XP
As noted above, we’re kicking Battlefest off with a double XP weekend and we’re definitely going to end with one too for all players to reap the benefits.


- Community Missions
Each week we will be hosting a global community challenge to reach a specific goal in-game. If you reach the goal, everyone who logs in will receive a free gold Battlepack the following week. The first mission starts on July 15, 2014, where you will have to collectively reach 15 million revives across all platforms, with the mission ending on the eve of July 20, 2014.


- Stunt Video Competition
This a month long contest where we are asking you to send us your best stunt video that can only be done in Battlefield 4. Once we receive the submissions, the DICE team will pick the top 12 and then you, the fans, will vote on the top three winners to win a massive prize. Official announcement to come; official rules can be found here.


And there it is, a month filled with fun activities and prizes to be given that we hope you’ll enjoy. But that’s not all, we have more surprises in store that we’re excited to share in the next couple weeks. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled. Happy Summer Gaming!

 

[kawaiku]

Now that I can say BF4 is fit for duty, I am excited to see this trailer for the next DLC:

And it looks like DICE is attempting a re-launch of sorts with this Battlefest announcement:

In addition to this, we have DICE teams in Stockholm and LA continually working on improving the gameplay experience, adding new initiatives like the CTE environment, and also developing the next two expansions packs, with Battlefield 4 Dragon’s Teeth releasing next week for Battlefield 4 Premium members.

A rarity these days, a developer using "expansion pack" instead of DLC