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.
The Armored Kill expansion pack for Battlefield 3 hits this September bringing the heavy-hitting new game mode Tank Superiority.
Battlefield 3: Armored Kill is all about vehicle warfare. Introducing the new vehicle class Tank Destroyer, this third expansion pack will also feature an all new game mode where tanks reign supreme.
Tank Superiority is a highly tailored game mode for Armored Kill where platoons featuring Main Battle Tanks and Tank Destroyers fight for control over a single flag – often placed in extremely open and hard-defended terrain. The new game mode resembles a “King of the Hill” struggle and is available on all four maps in Armored Kill, each map featuring a mix of up to 16 tanks.
As there is only one flag with a tight capture radius per map, heavy tank battles tend to flow back and forth as teams seek to bleed tickets from their opponent. For tank drivers, success usually comes by staying together in packs of 2-3 tanks working together. Going solo to the capture point typically means you get overwhelmed by a large group of enemy tanks.
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.
According to some leaked screenshots, it appears that Microsoft might be preparing a cosmetic revamp of the Xbox 360's Dashboard in their upcoming Fall update this November.
As some might remember, Microsoft had already announced earlier that this update, among other things, would implement the new Family Center, which would allow a family to buy only one Xbox Live Gold account instead of having to buy individual ones.
The leaked screenshots appear to have a Metro-like appeal to them, the codename being the new UI scheme that the latest version of the Zune hardware and PC application are using, as well as the upcoming Windows Phone 7. The tiles appear to be done horizontally now, instead of the skewed angular perspective the current dashboard uses. The menu fonts, as well as some of the other fonts in the screenshots, appear to be thinner and the colors are more neutral than the heavy hues currently used.
As of yet, Microsoft has yet to comment on the leak, but the screenshots do match previous released screenshots of the Family Center from the company, so this is likely the real deal.
The man, the myth, the legend, OZZY will be on Guitar Hero World Tour:
After performing in countless sold-out arenas and amphitheaters throughout the world, rock's defining frontman Ozzy Osbourne – who has sold over 100 million records worldwide in his four decade career – will be playing to a new audience this fall as he makes his videogame debut in Activision Publishing, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero World Tour.
Budding rockstars around the world will have the opportunity to live out their ultimate fantasy on the virtual OZZFest stage, playing as Ozzy, or alongside him, as he wails to iconic rock track "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley," both from his quintuple platinum debut solo album Blizzard of Ozz. OZZFest, now it its 13th year, has also been created digitally as an in-game venue exclusively for Guitar Hero World Tour to host the heavy metal rock legend.
Joining Ozzy in Guitar Hero World Tour as a playable character is his lead axe-shredder and founder of Black Label Society, Zakk Wylde, performing their hit track "Stillborn."
In addition to Metallica releasing their highly anticipated Death Magnetic album in its entirety as downloadable content in both Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Guitar Hero World Tour, the 2008 OZZFest performers and GRAMMY winning recording artists will be appearing for their on-disc encore with "Trapped Under Ice." Finally, taking the Guitar Hero stage for the first time is fellow OZZFest artist, System of a Down with their 2006 GRAMMY for Best Hard Rock Performance winning single "B.Y.O.B."
When the house lights go down this fall, a new generation of guitarists, drummers and fearless frontmen will come together and rock with Guitar Hero World Tour. The latest installment in the #1 best-selling video game franchise of 2007, Guitar Hero World Tour transforms music gaming by expanding Guitar Hero's signature guitar gameplay into a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless instruments with new revolutionary online* and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player "Battle of the Bands," which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online for the first time ever. The game features a slick newly redesigned guitar controller, drum kit controller and a microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock 'n' roll anthems. Music creators will also be able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunesSM where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of unique creations.
Guitar Hero World Tour is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The Wii™ version is being developed by Vicarious Visions. The PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system version is being developed by Budcat. The game is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. For more information on Guitar Hero World Tour, please visit www.guitarhero.com.
What takes 4.7 million lines of code, partner teams from all over Microsoft, and millions of dollars to create? The Xbox 360 system software? Nope. This is just the HD DVD player.
The Xbox platform team (us) is experiencing its own emergence day as of late; we've been hard at work for the past 8 months straight bringing the fall system update to fruition. I haven't even posted since August. Daryl's already gone over a lot of the features and changes that are in this release. I've personally been working on the Xbox 360 HD DVD player (which, by the way, reached the #1 best seller slot on Amazon.com's video games category) and I thought I'd go over some of the technical difficulties it takes to bring HD DVD to market.
There's a perception that HD DVD is just DVD with HD content, but once you look at things more closely, it's clear that HD DVD is a different beast altogether. The Xbox platform team became serious about HD DVD last year, when Microsoft as a company threw its endorsement behind the standard.
The Xbox 360 HD DVD Player, for the most part, is an entirely software based implementation. Other players on the market have specialized chips (called DSPs) that decode things like H.264, MPEG, VC1, DTS, Dolby Digital, and other codecs. Much like how backwards compatibility for Xbox 1 works on Xbox 360, the heavy parts of HD DVD are all done on Xbox 360's triple-core CPU.
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