Battlefield 3 Leading on PC; Dedicated Servers Planned, Mod Tools on the Backburner

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Battlefield 3 is being developed with a distinct PC focus, according to the GameInformer cover story (via Joystiq). Executive producer Patrick Bach says the team is "focusing on PC first, and then we fiddle with it to fit it onto consoles."

The game will support dedicated servers, and is sticking with four selectable classes (referred to as "the sweet spot"). Forming up into squads is also getting tweaked, but Bach is holding those details close to the vest for the time being.

Some fans might be disappointed to learn that mod tools are taking a back seat to polishing the main game for the time being. "We will not deliver mod tools in the way we delivered them for Battlefield 2," said Bach. "Creating mod tools today -- dumbing them down -- takes a lot of energy and what we are discussing more every day is, 'Where do we put our focus?'"

He continued, "Right now our focus is to create the best possible multiplayer, single-player, and co-op game -- the core game of Battlefield 3. We're still discussing how we handle modifications of any kind."

More Battlefield 3 information is planned for GDC 2011. A beta, which shipped with select copies of Medal of Honor, is also in the works but has yet to be dated.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    February 8, 2011 12:40 PM

    I don't see why people are so upset about the lack of mod tools. It does take lots of time / energy to make them available to the public. I trust DICE to deliver a full BF experience right out of the box without needing any mods for another couple of months after release.

    So focus on the game, DICE. BRING IT!

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      February 8, 2011 12:48 PM

      Because some of the best and most influential multiplayer games of all-time were mods, including the mods for BF1942 that culminated in DICE hiring people from the mod community.

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        February 8, 2011 1:28 PM

        Get over it, this isn't 1999. Making mods is not as easy as it used to be. The PC FPS community is a lot of smaller than it used to be and the amount of people and time it would take to create anything decent is just not worth it.

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          February 8, 2011 2:41 PM

          No, the PC FPS community is the same size as it has always been. It's smaller relative to the console audience. Stagnating growth does not indicate a decrease in players.

          Making mod tools is harder, but still valuable. Look at CryEngine, Source and Unreal Engine 3.

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            February 8, 2011 3:08 PM

            I said making mods is harder, not mod tools. The FPS crowd isn't the same size as it used to be, sales figures speak for themselves. Nearly all the hardcore PC gamers I played with growing up either moved to consoles or stopped playing on the PC all together, including myself. Developers have been moving away from the PC for years and all the "good" shooters out right now are console ports. The days of quality mods like Action Quake II, Counter-strike, Day of Defeat and 1942: DC are over. Show me ONE new mod that's being played right now on the SAME scale as those used to be.

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              February 8, 2011 3:13 PM

              Who are you to determine how or what the entire modding community thinks about? Get over yourself. Some people make mods because they enjoy it not because it's some sort of foresaken obligation. Modding has been the bread and butter of every major game long after the original developers give up on it. They even release 3rd party patches to clean up all the shit the developers leave behind and never fix.

              What you're saying is akin to open sourcing being bad because you think it's hard.

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              February 8, 2011 11:20 PM

              Your anecdotal evidence is thoroughly convincing.

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          February 8, 2011 11:00 PM

          Making mods was never easy, Mr. Know-It-All...

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        February 8, 2011 5:57 PM

        yah games are also significantly more complex now... 8-9yrs ago it wasn't that hard to put together maps and other content that was on par with the original game.

        Not saying it can't be done, but it will take people a lot longer to get out good quality mods.

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      February 8, 2011 12:51 PM

      Because mods kinda made BF2 and BF 1942 the great games they are?

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      February 8, 2011 12:52 PM

      It's significant because mods were what kept BF1942 alive long after everyone grew tired of the vanilla game. Mods, specifically Desert Combat, not only revitalized the community, but charted the course for the modern FPS.

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        February 8, 2011 2:17 PM

        Citation needed.

        Also, is it that inconcieveable that maybe perhaps a modern engine like Frostbite doesn't have the more user friendly elements the mod community needs?

        inb4 "omg we so smart, we can handle it".

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          February 8, 2011 2:21 PM

          Citation: WalterBennet's Memories (2002-2003).

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            February 9, 2011 8:19 PM

            Going to append to this mine as well, I played DC and PR for a much longer time than the original games. Something like 3-400 hours longer.

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          February 8, 2011 3:14 PM

          I will also cite for him as will all my friends that play BF mods and HL2 mods long after the original games have faded away.

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      February 9, 2011 8:19 AM

      Modders don't need a shrink wrapped box of tools. While it would be nice to have docs, installers and single interfaces it's not neccessary. Modders are often software developers. Just release a zip file with some tools and I'm sure they will figure the rest out.

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