DICE: Battlefield 3 has spotting

By Robert Purchese Published 7 February, 2011

But Dolphin Diving is disallowed.

Battlefield 3 will feature spotting, developer DICE has confirmed.

Spotting allows gamers to pin-point the location of enemies for the rest of their team. Once spotted, a soldier has a red triangle above his head and is singled-out on the game's mini-map.

Battlefield 3 senior gameplay designer Alan Kertz confirmed the feature via Twitter.

"Yes, there will be spotting," Kertz confirmed.

"2D spotting is a minimum," he added. "I want a form of 3D spotting that avoids, 'There, behind the tree.' 'What tree?'"

"I want a balanced 3D spot that works for a whole team."

"It's still early," he assured another enquirer, "there's still plenty to do, and it's not like I'm going to forget about spotting, or the issues it creates.

"Spotted enemies could have a bomb dropped on them by an orbital space cannon for all I've decided right now."

For Kertz, spotting evokes 'man on a hill picking out enemies for his long-range squad' teamplay that he's keen to encourage.

Kertz went on to assure that while soldiers can go prone in Battlefield 3 - i.e. lie on their stomachs - there will be absolutely no lying down while in mid-air. This is a technique called 'Dolphin Diving' and "is out", wrote Kertz - "Period."

Other differences between BF3 and Bad Company 2 include flyable jets and 64-player battles (on PC), as revealed already. The two games aren't directly related, which means features like the grappling hook and zip-line have been dropped.

There will be a knife, though, as well as dog-tags, although what purpose the latter serves Kertz wouldn't say.

Battlefield 3 will also have friendly fire, plus the bullet drop system from Bad Company 2. "Doesn't work the same as BC2 though, it's a much deeper system," Kertz explained.

DICE is leaving the Special Ops focus for the Medal of Honor series. Kertz wouldn't be drawn on anti-cheat features.

Kertz went on to confirm Iranian capital Tehran as one of the game's major locations. Shops outed this city alongside Paris and New York for Battlefield 3.

As with Battlefield: Bad Company 2, EA is betting big with Battlefield 3 - particularly in relation to the genre-dominating Call of Duty series. EA has already declared itself the most likely breeding ground for the next "Great FPS" - a title held by Infinity Ward and Modern Warfare 2, apparently.

Taking that fight one-step further, Kertz tweeted: "You don't kill COD by trying to be COD. You kill COD by making a better shooter."

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (47) Latest comment 1 year ago

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

  • Lexx87 #1 1 year ago

    Battlefield 3 \o/

    Really cannot wait for this.

  • towser #2 1 year ago

    No Dolphin diving?

    Flipper will not be happy...

  • SBfistfun #3 1 year ago

    Is prone definetly in the console versions?

    Can't wait to see more of this :)

  • ChthonicEcho #4 1 year ago

    The moment the ability to go prone was announced, I really wanted spotting to survive in Battlefield 3.

    And now I see dolphin diving is out, too. A definite purchase, then.

  • jack_klugman #5 1 year ago

    Space cannons confirmed for BF3.

  • metalangel #6 1 year ago

    Can we go prone to slide down hills like in BF1942?

  • shadowaspect #7 1 year ago

    If it's anything like the 'dive to prone' of Black Ops, I hope to see people diving down stairs/through windows and suiciding on impact. Always makes me laugh.

  • mcmonkeyplc #8 1 year ago

    Please be great please be great please be great.

  • AllenSpawn #9 1 year ago

    Battlefield games will ALWAYS be better than COD

  • LotteD #10 1 year ago

    i love BC2 so i can't wait for B3. Spotting is one of the best features of the Battlefield series

  • Skurmedel #11 1 year ago

    As long as they include Wake Island :D
    Edited by Skurmedel at 07/02/11 @ 10:40

  • Paperghost #12 1 year ago

    imho i wish the "one hit knife kill" would vanish from games like this one. none of these games seem to make the crazy knife swingers recoil from the dozens of bullets you put into their chest as they run right up and one stab kill you regardless. lost count of the number of times i've seen a game in black ops & elsewhere unbalanced because knife guy was too busy trying to get stab kills instead of defending / attacking an objective, or getting shot because he insisted on running halfway across the map in a failed attempt to knife somebody.

    er....this game sounds good, though :)

  • Shikasama #13 1 year ago

    The ability to go prone makes this an absolute no go on an SDTV screen. On BFBC2 it was very very difficult to see other characters anyway. I actually thought that might have been the rteason you couldn't go prone in the game.

    It'll be good for the PC though, although Recons will be even more of a pain in the arse.

  • Shikasama #14 1 year ago

    Oh, and can someone explain why 'Dolphin Diving' is a bad thing? I've not heard of it before.

  • mcreddie #15 1 year ago

    Why is this news?

    * for all you bloody neggers, I was genuinely asking why this is news.. Wasn't it on BFBC2?
    Edited by mcreddie at 07/02/11 @ 13:46

  • carlitoswagon #16 1 year ago

    The automatic urge to spot has gotten me killed while playing other less accomplished shooters. Press the same button, blinded by a scoreboard and shot in the face is a good reason to stick to battlefield games.



  • carlitoswagon #17 1 year ago

    @shikasama

    You can youtube this to see it in action. It's very funny. Basically a guy can bounce around from standing to prone (looking like a deformed swimming dolphin) and can't be shot while he's doing it.

  • kinky_mong #18 1 year ago

    All sound like good additions, although friendly fire has me worried that team-killing griefers will be prevalent.

  • magicpanda #19 1 year ago

    Any news on the Commander Class? It's not proper Battlefield without a Commander.

  • Skurmedel #20 1 year ago

    About teamkilling, I think it should really punish TKers more... you should lose experience (if they have an experience system in this) or have some kind of badge attached to your name if you TK too much. It could only be mitigated by playing properly. But I guess some low-life will find a way to exploit that as well.

  • CaptainKid #21 1 year ago

    64 players on PC sounds great!
    But since it also comes out on consoles the maps will be made for 32 players..

  • arcam #22 1 year ago

    Battlefield maps scale to player count. So the maps will be made for 64 players, but there will be an alternative scaled down version of the map for 32 (and 16) players regardless of what platform it's on.
    Edited by arcam at 07/02/11 @ 11:32

  • SBfistfun #23 1 year ago

    I hope they work on some kind of team balance system for this one, both Bad company games suffer terribly from people on one team, leaving in droves as soon as they start losing, and it ruins the whole thing jumping in and out of games just to try and find a decent one.

    Battlefield Vietnam seems even worse for this.

    And some kind of game browser would help, nothing more annyonig than leaving a game, the selecting to join a new game and getting stuck into the same one, grrrrrrrrr!!

  • TheEarlOfZinger #24 1 year ago

    I agree - server browser (consoles) would be my number one request.

  • HL706 #25 1 year ago

    Put dedicated servers in this and I'll be in heaven.

  • BiffTanner #26 1 year ago

    Battlefield has always run on dedicated servers.

  • geeza2020 #27 1 year ago

    The only modern military fps worth playing this year.

  • Jonny5Alive7 #28 1 year ago

    Spotting was always a neat idea in BF2 I thought. I haven't PC gamed properly in a while, I don't want to spend hundreds on upgrading but I'll have to if I want the 64 player games!

  • Iain #29 1 year ago

    @Skurmedel: I agree. I hope they'll have a sophisticated system to analyze player behavior so they can take action against rage-quitters, team-killers and whatever ass-hattery people will come up with.

  • Ranger101 #30 1 year ago

    Spotting is an awesome team tool that more games should adopt. And way to make the select/back button useful too.

    Not sure how this 3D spotting will be presented... does the triangle get bigger if they're closer, smaller if they're far? Does the colour or opacity of the triangle change depending on their distance?

    It will be useful, as anyone playing BC2 will attest, seeing a spot that's behind a hill, far, far away on the first island of Isla Inoccentes is an unneeded distraction when there's chopper rape going on at B.

  • MasterNameless #31 1 year ago

    Both spotting and squad spawning have been my favourite additions to the Battlefield games of recent years. Both increase the amount of fun and teamwork massively - especially when playing with friends, squad spawning means that you are actually playing with your friends for the duration of the game.

    Which is a massive difference to COD, even in a party of friends, it feels like you're just running around randomly getting kills/killed the whole game, with your friends only rarely in sight.

  • Ranger101 #32 1 year ago

    @MasterNameless

    Absolutely right, now that I think about it. Squad Spawns get you communicating a lot with your friends - asking them to wait, to hide, to light up an MCOM because you'll be there to get their back, asking them what class they want you to spawn as to fit the situation. It's awesome.

    And being a spawn point for your squad is like being a ninja, sneaking in all crafty finding a good spot then unleashing hell. Likewise, being a defender and having the satisfaction of killing a 'spawn point' knowing that they'll ahve to endure the full trek from deployment to get back, where your wookies will no doubt rain bullets on them.

  • Ducklord #33 1 year ago

    Grappling hook? Zip line? What?

  • SFG_Clan #34 1 year ago

    64 player *excitement barely contained*... (on pc)
    *Disappointment crushing me*

  • carlitoswagon #35 1 year ago

    ^^^ ^^^

    He confused Batman with Battlefield. Easily done.

  • Skurmedel #36 1 year ago

    Hehe Grappling Hooks and Zip Lines were in the Special Forces expansion for BF2. It was full of bugs though. Me and a mate found a grave exploit after just a couple of hours where you could use the grappling hook the get inside building models. You could see out and shoot people but they couldn't shoot back. It didn't take long before there were people everywhere who had found out the same thing hehe... you didn't even have to look for it, just get the grapple "the wrong" way so to speak and you would pop inside the building.
    Edited by Skurmedel at 07/02/11 @ 13:58

  • SavageEvil #37 1 year ago

    This looks to be shaping up quite well, hope they balance out the weapon damage. How about variable fire rates for weapons? This is something that I rarely see in shooters these days, SOCOM has been doing this since PS2, come on DICE. Melee needs to be fixed a bit, from behind it should turn into a stealth kill(instant death), but when you and the enemy are face to face it won't instantly kill them, and also allow them to kick the attacker away and either attempt to retaliate or retreat to a safe distance. In fact they should work on a melee system that makes it so if you expected a melee attack you can actually prevent the attack, create an opening where you can either go for your own melee attack or reach for your sidearm. Make it so that melee attacks aren't overused, if you have to go through this 50/50 chance of actually being successful, people will use it sparingly.

  • PearOfAnguish #38 1 year ago

    So jets are back, but are the maps going to be big enough to make it worth flying? BF2's maps were so small you'd be off the edge in a few seconds. Also: do not put in fucking heat seeking missiles. Make dogfighting fun again.

    I miss the days of epic Gazala and El Alamein battles. Now that was a multiplayer game.

  • hiddenranbir #39 1 year ago

    Spotting helped make Battlefield awesome. Really brought in encouragement and focus on team efforts over solo efforts.

    I wasn't too bothered with lack of prone in BC2 given soldiers could camo quite well with environment but should certainly make things interesting.

  • Matfink #40 1 year ago

    "You don't kill COD by trying to be COD. You kill COD by making a better shooter."

    Amen bruddah!

  • CaptainKid #41 1 year ago

    @arcam
    That's great.
    I'm keeping my eye on this one.
    Hopefully it will be less complicated then BF2142 with all its unlocks and a zillion different weapons and worse; explosives.

    I remember 1942 also having 64 players does anyone know if the game was actually made for 64?
    Maps were plenty big enough though.

  • ozzzy189 #42 1 year ago

    Please sort out your online \e\a, it's terrible. Also, squad play, when there are a couple of teams in maybe a 3 and 4, you can join charlie sqaud and be on your own, making it very difficult. i like the weapons etc, but getting stuck at the base of stairs and on scenary was very very annoying and should've ben sorted.

  • inutaihanyou #43 1 year ago

    Tell that last quote to medal of honor :l

    But seriously, yeah, hope it goes well. I'll be buying it of course. And also Respawn's game naturally

  • king26 #44 1 year ago

    Looks awesome and everything but I dont see why 64 players cannot take place on PS3, MAG did it and I'm sure the PS3 has the power to make a real online Battlefield game possible.

  • CaptainKid #45 1 year ago

    @king26
    MAG had dedicated servers?

    Normally consoles don't have dedicated servers so an actual player has to host the online match.
    I know Fuel of War had official dedicated servers.

    Hopefully the next generation of consoles will make 3th party dedicated servers possible just like on PC.

  • Iain #46 1 year ago

    @king26: MAG can pull off the (certainly impressive) 256 players because it doesn't have Frostbite 2.0 (and the destruction it brings) running, doesn't have the graphical polish that BF3 will have and doesn't have a big focus on land-/sea- and air-combat.

    and let's not forget, more players doesn't need to mean more fun. if the map's designed for 64 players then it'll most likely play best with 64 players. on top of that, the larger the number of players, the more difficult it'll become to manage them.

  • king26 #47 1 year ago

    yeah it was just a thought, lets hope this can be achieved in the near future. However I feel that it may be possible if B3 was PS3 exclusive, PS3 exclusives tend to push the boundaries where as multi platformerds tend to restrict the PS3.