DICE announced today that the next multiplayer update for Battlefield 3 goes live with lots of tweaks, fixes and load balancing tomorrow September 4th.
There will first be a small (184MB) Title Update automatically downloaded when you start the game. When restarting the game, you will get a popup notifying you that Multiplayer Update 4 is available. It is not mandatory to accept this, but we advise you to do so. Otherwise, you can find Multiplayer Update 4 both on Xbox Live Marketplace and in our in-game store as a manual download.
Battlefield 3: Armored Kill, the third expansion pack for Battlefield 3 will be available for Premium Members on Xbox LIVE and PC in North America on September 11 and in Europe September 13. PS3 premium members get access to Armored Kill September 4th.
Reload timer adjustments
A number of weapons have had their reload timers adjusted to better fit their animations and gameplay balance. For most of these weapons the gameplay timers were slightly out of sync with the actual reload animation, meaning the player could either fire before the animation was done, or had to wait longer than the animation played. Primarily this is a cosmetic change (around 0.1sec); however for a few weapons (M416, F2000, FAMAS, KH2002, MK3A1, JNG90, MG36 QBU-88, SVD, Pecheneg, SCAR-H, AN-94) this should also improve the performance of the weapon. Full details below:
Short and Long reload reduced: SCAR-L, AEK-971, F2000, AN-94, AK-74, PP2000, G3A3, SKS, MG36, JNG-90, MK3A1, SCAR-H, SVD, QBZ-95B
Long reload reduced: AUG A3, 44 Magnum, KH2002, Pecheneg, L85A2, QBB-95, M1911, MP7
Short reload reduced: M417, FAMAS, M39 EBR, M416, PP-19, QBU-88
Short and long reload increased: ASVal
Long reload reduced, shot reload increased: M4A1
Long reload increased: P90
Damage output/range adjustments
UMP: Increased the close range damage of the UMP but reduced its damage over range. The UMP now has a sweet spot in CQB but suffers compared to the PP2000 at longer ranges.
PP2000: Increased the long range damage of the PP2000 to highlight its role as a mid-range, low recoil PDW.
M1911: Increased the minimum damage of the M1911 to make it fit better between the Magnums and the M9/MP443
M93: Reduced the M93R’s damage and range, as it was an obvious go to pistol compared to the M9/MP443. Its recoil has been reduced for a smoother burst action to counter the reduced damage.
12G Frag rounds: These rounds have been adjusted to do their damage in a smaller area but to be more consistently apply the maximum possible damage.
AA: Slightly increased the damage of the AA against infantry, the AA was simply over nerfed in a previous update. The AA guns now also properly do damage to MBTs again.
12 Gauge buckshot close range damage has been slightly increased.
Slightly reduced the range penalty for the suppressor on the SCAR-H.
Increased bullet velocity for the coaxial HMG, making it easier to hit targets over longer ranges.
Increased the minimum range of the 40mm Flechette and tightened the cone of fire for more consistent damage levels.
Slightly reduced the range bonus added by the heavy barrel on the 5.56mm, 5.45mm, 6.5mm Assault Rifles.
Slightly reduced the range penalty for the suppressor on 5.56mm, 5.45mm, and 6.5mm weapons: AR, Carbine, and LMG.
Slightly reduced the range penalty for the suppressor on the SCAR-H.
Slightly reduced the range penalty for the suppressor on 5.56mm, 5.45mm, and 6.5mm weapons: AR, Carbine, and LMG.
Slightly reduced the range bonus added by the heavy barrel on the 5.56mm, 5.45mm, 6.5mm Assault Rifles.
Increased the damage of the M5K.
A select set of weapons have had their recoil adjusted based on joint community feedback and statistical analysis to provide greater balance in the weapon choices players make. Specifically, the M16A3 and M4A1 have increased recoil to make them less attractive in all situations. Competing weapons like the SG553, G36C and M416 have been improved to also increase viable player choice in primary weapons.
EA and DICE have been hard at work collecting and working on feedback and suggestions for the next BF3 update, and have announced that the next patch for Battlefield 3 will be released for PlayStation 3 on the 27th of March. More information on the Xbox 360 and PC updates will come soon.
This patch includes many gameplay tweaks and balances; several suggested by you. The full list of changes and updates is as follows. This update will also bring the “Rent a Server” functionality to Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. For more updated information on this functionality, check back next week.
FIXES FOR PC SERVER OPERATION
- Having the same map occur multiple times in the maplist now works properly
- If adding a new map to the servers maplist after a clear and then running “mapList.runNextRound” the server will ignore any remaining rounds on the map that it still run since before the clear and move to the new first map in the list. The server will now have reset the current rounds per map and run the map in the list for the number of rounds stated when adding the map.
- Maplist can contain up to 1000 entries now
- mapList.list will return at most 100 entries. To get the entire list, perform mapList.list repeatedly with increasing offsets (like banList.list)
GENERAL GAMEPLAY FIXES
-Players should no longer take fall damage from short falls.
-Players now get up from Prone slightly faster, allowing better odds of getting away from a grenade or threat when prone.
-Fixed some situations that would unintentionally make a player unrevivable.
-Reduced the black screen fade in time on spawn. The fade is still necessary for properly streaming in loading content at spawn, but it has been substantially reduced.
-Increased the spawn protection time from 1sec to 2sec. The protection will still be immediately canceled as soon as the player moves or shoots.
-Spawn protection will no longer be canceled by the player looking around.
-Increased the speed at which a player regains accuracy when aiming after moving for a more responsive experience. Firing before fully zoomed will still result inaccurate fire.
-Increased the inaccuracy and recoil added when a player is fully suppressed.
-Shotgun Buck and Flechette rounds now have a less suppressive effect at medium to long range.
-Tweaked the damage levels of Buck and Flechette rounds to balance them with other weapons.
-Improved the suppression of the .44 magnum, .357 magnum, and the 5.8x42mm DAP88 rounds from the Type88 sniper.
-Attempting to Crouch (like Prone) will now properly interrupt Sprint.
-Increased the effectiveness of Suppression Resist Specialization.
-Parachutes now respond to turn and throttle inputs more quickly.
-Switching from primary weapons to sidearms and back now takes less time.
-Increased the effectiveness of explosive resistance.
-Tweaked bipod deploy settings so players can no longer deploy a bipod in places higher than chin level.
-The bipod should now be more reliable when deploying on top of sloped objects like cars and rocks.
-Fixed several issues with vaulting objects, especially for thin railings.
-The Knife now only takes two swipes to kill when attacking from a position where a takedown is not possible.
-CRAM weapons on Carriers now count towards stationary weapon awards.
Play MW3 MP first, compete in the $1 Million tournament sponsored by Xbox 360, incredible live events, Sept. 2nd & 3rd in LA.
Prepare for a weekend of titanic firsts, kicked off by the worldwide public reveal of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's epic multiplayer mode and the full roll-out of Call of Duty Elite.
Be among the first to witness the future of multiplayer gaming at the XP opening ceremony on the massive main stage LED screen, then play it yourself. Demo stations will be running non-stop throughout the weekend.
Modern Warfare 3 Multi-Player Challenges
All attendees can battle for fun and prizes in Modern Warfare 3's numerous multiplayer gauntlets, which pit 16 teams of four players against each other in a series of break-neck, 10-minute rounds. These single-elimination frag-fests will be fought all weekend long – only one team per gauntlet will survive to celebrate their glory.
Ticketholders will also experience Modern Warfare 3's ferocious Spec Ops Survival mode for the first time at Call of Duty XP. Compete in teams of two to outlast opposing squads and clear the most waves. Winners will be handsomely rewarded.
Gauntlets and King of the Hill matches will also be ongoing in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Black Ops, World at War and Call of Duty 4. Individual players will reign supreme in these savage free-for-alls until dethroned by another player.
Black Ops Zombie mode will offer hardcore zombie killers the chance to headshot their way to glory solo or in teams. Call of Duty XP delivers action-packed, in-person multiplayer competition for all skill levels and styles of play.
Tackle Real-World Call of Duty Action Experiences
Battle in The Scrapyard. Two teams will enter this astonishing real-world recreation of Modern Warfare 2's fan-favorite Scrapyard level. Only one will exit. OK, both teams will exit, but only one will walk away with pride – the other will walk away dripping paint. And for the first time ever, players will have the opportunity to speed-run Modern Warfare 2's infamous Pit training sequence in real life. Prizes and bragging rights are available to top finishers.
Attendees can also duke it out in Juggernaut Sumo and take a plunge down a military-style zipline. Massive Modern Warfare-inspired experiences like these happen in only one place – Call of Duty XP.
Spec Ops co-op returns in Modern Warfare 3 with all-new Survival mode. Check out the Spec Ops trailer just below and visit the official callofduty.com website for more information.
The latest Call of Duty: Black Ops patch is now available on Xbox LIVE.. The next time you turn on your Xbox 360 and log in to Xbox LIVE you will be prompted to download and install the latest Call of Duty: Black Ops title update/patch.
Since the title update, the first thing you may notice is that you can no longer change SAM Torrets, Sentry Guns using the Hardline Pro double tap "X" perk. This means no-one can do the Hardline Pro package glitch and should make the gameplay much smoother..
Here is the full list of items which have been updated to prevent numerous issues and improve gameplay.
Issues Addressed:
Resolved several issues with parties getting disbanded unexpectedly.
Updated handling for UPnP-enabled routers to improve matchmaking conditions where users had strict or moderate NAT types. Also added in-game communications so that all players are aware of their NAT type in the Player Match party lobby.
Addressed issue that prevented the “Load MP by Default” option from saving when other specific option combinations were set. (Xbox 360 only)
Prevention of exploit that allowed players to keep custom classes and killstreaks after prestige.
Addressed an issue where Flak Jacket Pro would not always protect against ground fires left by Napalm Strikes.
Prevention of users losing their killstreak reward when switching classes at the start of a new round in round-based game modes.
Addressed an issue where the incorrect perks would appear when spectating another player under certain circumstances.
Added round start explosive delay to China Lake grenade launcher to give it the same round start limitations as other explosives.
Contracts will now reset when the player Prestiges.
Prevention of Valkyrie rocket exploding upon release under rare conditions.
Prevention of Gunship failing to give player full control under rare conditions.
Prevention of an issue where a player will get teleported outside the map boundaries under very specific circumstances.
Additional security measures to enhance detection and banning capabilities.
Gameplay Tuning:
Limit the ability to re-roll supply drops using Hardline Pro to Care Packages only, no other killstreak drops.
Added a negative influencer to all spawn points to decrease the chances of spawning near an enemy. This will further improve spawning protection on top of previous updates.
Additional sound mix tuning for Ninja Pro users – increased ranges and volume of enemy footsteps, and removed player footstep sounds on concrete material types.
Increased headshot multipliers for sniper rifles. Sniper rifles with suppressors equipped will now always be ensured one-shot kill headshots.
Subtle increase in sniper rifle accuracy when scoping in.
Added a render delay to the red diamond player indicators that appear when controlling the Gunship, Valkyrie Rocket and Chopper Gunner.
When a player first spawns, this will not appear for a period of time.
Additional minor reductions in knife lunge.
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The wonderful team over at Kontrol Freek, recently gave us a chance to test out their new products FPS and Speed Freek. While we’ve had a solid month to test out their products we’ve given each of them a solid 25 hours plus for each, so we know how well each of them works. I’m going to take this chance here to thank all of Kontrol Freek now for giving us this chance to review their products. Now on to the review!
To start the review we will first explain a bit of background information. If you are on the 360-Hq homepage click read more to check out the full review!
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