Battlefield 3 will be just as good on PC

By Ellie Gibson Published 22 October, 2010

"I won't 'dumb it down'," says designer.

Battlefield developer DICE has promised the third instalment in the series will be just as enjoyable on PC as it is on consoles.

Posting on the EA forum, designer Alan Kerz acknowledged, "PC players have a fear that BF3 will be 'consolized'.

"PC players have their own set of requirements... Anything that feels like it might have been "ported" from a console is going to get flamed hard," he wrote. "It's a damn sight harder to please a PC player, they have higher expectations."

But Kerz reckons DICE is up to the job. "Battlefield 3 needs an extra bit of special attention on the PC. I intend to give it that attention, tradition and our community demand it."

So what does that mean in real terms? Well, for starters they have been fiddling with the controls to make sure shooting guns is just as much fun in the PC game as it is in the console versions.

"In response to the feedback on PC, I completely retweaked the accuracy," said Kerz. "The next playtest it was immediately obvious that it was a change for the better, and surprisingly it also made gamepads feel much better as well.

"Fundamentally I think it is an error to have different core gameplay on console vs PCs. PC gives a player more input control and if a gun feels good on PC it feels good on console. I won't "dumb it down" by lowering the recoil or changing the damage model or other such silliness."

There will be other similarities between the versions, pledged Kerz, such as epic, sprawling battlefields, tight infantry fights, balanced weapons, good teamplay and a rewarding progression system.

Little else is known about Battlefield 3 so far - EA hasn't even announced a release date. Here's hoping we find out more soon.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • BillMurray #1 2 years ago

    404!

    Edit* Why did I get neg'd for pointing out the article was missing when it first went up?
    Edited by BillMurray at 22/10/10 @ 22:34

  • Boomerang #2 2 years ago

    I trust DICE with this.

  • Shikasama #3 2 years ago

    Hang on, so by extension, the console versions won't be getting any special attention and they won't be trying to please the demanding customers there?

  • Spekingur #4 2 years ago

    Exactly Shikasama. Everyone will be equally disappointed! ;-p

  • dsmx #5 2 years ago

    It's on consoles, they have no choice but to dumb it down to get it to work.

  • Mo0k #6 2 years ago

    I don't like how it sounds like he's doing it all himself.

  • Br0ken_Engli5h #7 2 years ago

    I don't think it's a case of the console versions getting no love, but the PC battlefields (main series) have always had a bit more substance in the form of designated commanders and squad leaders, meaning more emphasis on teamwork. They also had larger maps suitable for dogfighting in planes.

    I'd love to see these features make it into the console versions, though. It'd be great to see a true sequel to PC BF2 appear on the 360/PS3.

  • superstu1337 #8 2 years ago

    All PC-Gamers do is complain and then pirate the game anyway! PC Gamers deserve NO special treatment!!! It's their own fault for why PC Gaming is now stuck in a hole which it will never get out of.

  • orangpelupa #9 2 years ago

    err. how about the mod support?
    you last game called bfbc2 have no mod

    and have small library of map...

  • Tricky #10 2 years ago

    Well from what I'd heard, this was originally a PC-only release so the PC was the lead development platform.

  • FireMonkey #11 2 years ago

    Some of the quotes in that article were a little miss leading as they were actually about BFBC2 and not BF3.

    Such as:
    "In response to the feedback on PC, I completely retweaked the accuracy. The next playtest it was immediately obvious that it was a change for the better, and surprisingly it also made gamepads feel much better as well."

    I thought that meant that they were far enough in the development of BF3 that they could get that sort of feedback, but looking on the forum it is actually talking about feedback to BFBC2.

  • neems #12 2 years ago

    Spot on Broken_English.

    It's not really about the game being 'dumbed down' per se, more the worry that the technical limitations of the consoles will lead to a game that has more in common with Bad Company than Battlefield proper. I didn't even realise until now that Battlefield 3 would be available on console - I simply assumed it would be PC only.

    So what exactly are we talking about here? Are we going to see the same map sizes and player counts as Battlefield 2, where 64 players was common? It's hard to imagine on console - although MAG showed it could be done (and then some), the Frostbite engine is extremely taxing. If the console games don't support the giant maps and huge player counts, it's extremely unlikely that the PC version will. It's not uncommon for PC versions of multiformat shooters to have higher player counts, but without larger, more balanced maps it just becomes a clusterfuck.

    I know I'm jumping the gun here, but it is a little worrying. Not so much for me - I always found Battlefield better in concept than execution - but a lot of my friends are frothing at the mouth, waiting for the next 'real' Battlefield game.

  • arcam #13 2 years ago

    I'm pretty much convinced this is gonna have smaller maps and fewer numbers of players than BF2, which would mean it's already lost a big part of what made that game great. Wouldn't be surprised if there are fewer classes and no commander role either.

    Hopefully I'm wrong :)

    edit: Yeah, basically what neems said.
    Edited by arcam at 22/10/10 @ 10:40

  • Powerslave #14 2 years ago

    I simply can't wait for this. I'm so excited I feel silly

  • CatWeazle #15 2 years ago

    We want upright/crouched AND crawl postures.. we want dedicated servers.. we want to be able to run LAN games from behind a firewall.. we want LARGE maps. we want the commander mode.. we want squads & teamplay.. we want 64+ players.. and much, much more..

    Basically, we want everything which was in BF2 - but was taken out of BFBC1 & 2 due to them being a console-led dumbed-down titles.

  • hollowroom #16 2 years ago

    My main worry with this is the amount of players that can be supported. I've noticed they haven't mentioned this in any of the press stuff so far (unless I missed it)

    The best thing about BF2 is playing on a huge map with 64 players, squad leaders and commanders. If they don't meet or exceed this, then I will probably not buy it either.

    BFBC2 is OK, but the maps are too small for my liking.

  • Apostle #17 2 years ago

    Ah jeez, I thought this was going to be PC exclusive. I remember a DICE guy saying "PC gamers, don't worry we have something special for you coming, be patient" give or take. I was hoping for something really special, but whatever you think it will be limited by the consoles. I love Bad Company on 360, but was hoping for a separate franchise for the PC. A more, "hardcore" game. I mean I don't think many people would disagree that BC is not a patch on BF2. BF2 with Frostbite? Yes please.

  • mungolikebeans #18 2 years ago

    Dear Dice,

    Before you get too stuck in to Battlefield 3 Please can we have a couple of new maps that are as equally as perfect as the current 3 for battlefield 1943.

    Not that I'm bored of the current maps at all, I'm just feeling greedy.

    Please...

  • Jonny5Alive7 #19 2 years ago

    I loved 64 player games on BF2, it was often chaos but it made it awesome. The only problem I have is I don't want to spend a load of money to get my PC up to scratch for it.

  • Bitkari #20 2 years ago

    All PC-Gamers do is complain and then pirate the game anyway! PC Gamers deserve NO special treatment!!! It's their own fault for why PC Gaming is now stuck in a hole which it will never get out of.

    BFBC2 had about 20% of sales on PC. It's also the most popular platform for multiplayer.

    Troll harder.


  • gav082 #21 2 years ago

    OK, now where's my Vietnam update for Bad company 2?

  • arcam #22 2 years ago

    I always thought BF:BC would be the console franchise, BF2/3/4 for PC.

    That would have made sense, I'm not sure they should have muddied the waters like they have.

  • GrizzleBoy #23 2 years ago

    What do they mean it will be just as good on PC?

    Shouldn't they be trying to make that sale to console users?

    Kinda makes it seem almost like PC isn't the lead platform.........

    Its like releasing Gears of War for the Wii and then telling 360 users the 360 version will be just as good as the other version that is being developed on a console of significantly lower specced machine.

    Do I really WANT the PC version to be "just as good" as the version being released on a five year old piece of hardware with a completely different control system?

    For me to be truly confident about BF3, I'd need to hear them talking like the PC version is first and foremost while the console versions are second in the priority line, but thats not really what I've heard so far.
    Edited by GrizzleBoy at 22/10/10 @ 21:05

  • metroid455 #24 2 years ago

    honestly most of you sound like a bunch of winy little kids
    jeez do you honestly think after the big success of the bad company series( 2 more so than 1 ) DICE would suddenly make "Battlefield" PC only again?
    you got bad company 2 and your getting Battlefield 3 whats the problem eh
    i
    have bad company 1 and 2 on PS3 and ill be preordering BF3 ps3 when possible.
    their fantastic shooters!! ive spent countless hours online and i dont regret it at all way better than that COD rubbish.
    besides im sure most of you bought BC2 anyway just as im sure you'll bu BF3 regardless of all your nitpicking!!

  • metalangel #25 2 years ago

    BC2 was fun but lacked the staying power of a proper Battlefield game. I blame the small linear maps, over-emphasis on infantry.

    I'm also hoping that now these concessions have been made to the CoD crowd and they "get" how it works, we can have huge vehicle based maps and wide open spaces again. If they don't provide this, Homefront will.

  • aphex187 #26 2 years ago

    @Shikasama

    Consoles have ruled the roost too long now and us PC gamers have had enough of shitty ports for our platform! BF:BC2 was not a BF game IMO and this was due to it being bastardised for the console market. Imagine the scale of a BF2 map using the Frostbite Engine on a console? wouldn't work so why the f should we suffer?

  • geeza2020 #27 2 years ago

    Sorry PC gamers, but in today's market where you need to make millions of sales to break even, spending shit loads of cash on a pc only game such as BF3 with all the bells and whistles on it you all seem to be demanding just isnt going to happen. The game will be "dumbed down" as you say to appear on consoles as that is where DICE and EA can make the most sales. Its $$$ all the way these days and you're apparent brand loyalty to the BF series doesnt mean shit to them. Gaming is, for better or worse, a multi-million dollar business these days and publishers and developers want to keep it that way, and to do that they have to market towards console games as there is so many more of them than pc gamers.

    suck it up and MTFU.

  • Agente_Silva #28 2 years ago

    So... This is the sequel for BF2 worth waiting for?! I thought Bad Company 2 would be playing that role, but, the way I see it, itīs more like multiplayer CoD based (death match games and somewhat small maps). You agree?