No mod tools for Battlefield 3 at launch

By Robert Purchese Published 8 February, 2011

Maybe ever.

DICE won't provide mod tools for new super-creation Battlefield 3 at launch.

The developer explained to Game Informer (via NeoGAF) that the new and much hyped Frostbite 2.0 engine makes everything more complicated; releasing mod tools would take a lot of work. And does DICE want to focus on that or making the game?

Nevertheless, DICE confirmed that PC will be the lead platform for Battlefield 3. This decision manifests in 64-player online PC battles. DICE didn't specify how many can fight online on consoles, although US shop-chain Best Buy reckons the number will be 24 (thanks, VG247).

Battlefield 3 will feature co-op, and there will be four character classes to pick from (they're not named). They'll be customisable, but not on a ridiculous level. It's a toss-up, argued producer Patrick Bach: "Giving the pink rabbit hat to someone would make it fun, but if you're running around and you don't know what you're shooting at, you don't take the professional gaming seriously in my book."

Squads will be detailed later.

Theatre mode is a possibility, and there will be a killcam installed so you know who killed you.

Much of the rest of the piece sounds to have been boasting about that Frostbite 2.0 engine. Apparently a team twice the size of Battlefield: Bad Company 2's has been working on Battlefield 3, and everything from graphics to the animation (EA Sports' ANT system) to the sound has been reworked.

This results in believable level destruction, which presumably ups the amount of scenery being smashed to smithereens. Apparently one level witnesses an earthquake that dramatically ravages the landscape around you.

On top of all that, there will be liberal use of the strong language like f***, which sounds f***ing nice.

Battlefield 3 also hones the story element, and adds Iraqi Kurdistan to the known list of locations: Paris, New York, Tehran.

We heard yesterday how Battlefield 3 will feature a spotting system of some kind, and how Dolphin Diving - going prone mid-air - will be strictly forbidden.

Also, jets.

That Frostbite 2.0 engine. All that and a bag of chips?

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 (35) Latest comment 1 year ago

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

  • DutchDemons #1 1 year ago

    dolphin diving?

    jesus, i obviously spent way too little time gaming. Never even heard of that. Is that the same as the famed 'bunny hopping'? Or am I just way off here?

    OT: I loved the old BF, and loved the BC iterations. Though getting used to the online spectacle takes some time to be honest. Once you do, it is awesome!
    Edited by DutchDemons at 08/02/11 @ 14:43

  • levitate #2 1 year ago

    Jolly good!

  • metalangel #3 1 year ago

    No mod tools = bad. BF1942 was great, mods like Desert Combat, Forgotten Hope and Eve of Destruction made it amazing.

    Swearing = bad. Fix yourself up with that shit!

  • hollowroom #4 1 year ago

    DutchDemons

    Dolphin diving is going prone in mid air while jumping/falling.

    The lack of mod tools is a shame but not surprising. Too much money to be made on add ons, money that you won't make if thousands of modders are doing it for free.

    It's a shame because some of my best BF2 moments were in Project Reality.

  • cianchristopher #5 1 year ago

    "Giving the pink rabbit hat to someone would make it fun, but if you're running around and you don't know what you're shooting at, you don't take the professional gaming seriously in my book."

    What?

  • Eraysor #6 1 year ago

    To be honest, I'll be more than happy with BC2 with jets added, it's a superb game already.

  • DefendoCroc #7 1 year ago

    @hollowroom .. "It's a shame because some of my best BF2 moments were in Project Reality"

    Snap, PR was superb.

  • Spekingur #8 1 year ago

    Pink rabbit hat is probably available in Team Fortress 2 anyways :D

  • Bagpuss #9 1 year ago

    Lol...in the age of DLC ass raping the consumer, MOD tools for triple A releases like BF3 are just a nostolgic memory of better times im afraid...

    The dumbass kiddie console players gave companies like EA,Activsion and the rest an unsatiable thirst for our money, for stuff that used to come with the game at time of purchase...


  • geeza2020 #10 1 year ago

    I'm a bit disappointed that consoles only get 24 player games again. Hopefully this will be proved wrong and DICE will release an official statement that consoles in fact get 32 player matches. I'm not expecting 64 players on consoles, but BFBC2 maps feel painfully empty with anything less than 24 players in.

    EDIT: - Bagpuss - you make yourself look like a cunt of the highest order tarring all console players with your "kiddie" comments. Go fuck yourself in the ass with a stick of RAM.
    Edited by geeza2020 at 08/02/11 @ 14:56

  • MattyD #11 1 year ago

    That's right Bagpuss, it's all console gamers' fault. Nowt to do with companies seeking a safe return on the millions they invest in randd for the engines and tech needed for today's games. YOU IMBECILE.

  • MinerWilly #12 1 year ago

    Im not some new to Battlefield player , i own every single Game , expansion , DLC , mod etc ever released and i just want to say please lets have more than 24 online for the console versions . If not then seriously i wouldnt even bother adding jets because from a lot of past experience there will be a queue of 6 players fighting for one of the 2 planes plus 2 guys already airborne , now 24 minus 8 from both sides would pretty much make it a 4 vs 4 Battlefield for us ground pounders who actually do the job of capturing and holding the bases (usually the people whom like to snipe in BF games and not help complete any objectives are the same player whom become obsessed with the planes )
    I really really hope VG246 or whatever have just made a wild stab at a guess because we MUST have 32 players minimum for this to work . (im sure DICE knows this , because jet maps will require larger playing areas - well they did on BF2)

  • CatWeazle #13 1 year ago

    Knew it. Witness the beginning of the dumbing-down.

  • Raptaur #14 1 year ago

    @BagPuss

    So you think that gamers that play on the console should have no desire to play on new or fresh maps.

    What choice did they have, they had no mod tools, the only choice was to buy maps. It’s not as if they had mod tools and DLC but decided they preferred paying for DLC maps…

    Just cause the developer/publisher has now realised that the PC gamer could be paying for them too, doesn’t mean it’s the console gamers fault.

    You want someone to blame, blame the developer/publisher for pulling them, not the gamer.


    ...what a stupid comment
    Edited by Raptaur at 08/02/11 @ 15:14

  • arcam #15 1 year ago

    I would have preferred if they time they spent on a single player campaign was spent on mod tools instead :)

    Unrealistic these days I guess.

  • TitusCrow #16 1 year ago

    Its gone, we did it wrong! We made DLC akin to a Pavlovian bell, that has the money men chanting "super high margin content" like a mantra. We did this, not them. We swallowed the crap and paid for it and even suggested prices for the next slice. So this is what we get. Some of the guys working on BF3 got onto the team and into the business by creating or helping to create mods.

    Money wins and we lose, I hope its perfect out the box, I hope the support is second to none Valve style. I hope they don't try to sell kits and game types and count those as maps. I hope the game is good enough as it is not to be another stillborn 18months after its release. How long did BF2 last? How many games were we truly getting when we bought that one? Ill tell you; if they release it with 20 maps and then release another 40 we will still not be close to the value that a copy of BF2 had in it.

    Am I still getting it? I guess so, to many good memories of what a real battle field game is, the scope, the vistas the random carnage and learning to fear that swoosh! sound, two seconds before you become dog food. Hell, who doesn't want the experience of being in a hardened installation and feeling it getting reduced to rubble by the terrifying power of jet strikes. I just hope its everything we are hoping for, for we can do nothing about it except complain on forums now.
    Edited by TitusCrow at 08/02/11 @ 15:21

  • Raptaur #17 1 year ago

    @MinerWilly

    I read a developer post on why the 24 player limit.

    Basically it came down to a quality of service that MS and Sony make games subscribe too. Each console gamer online is only allowed to send a certain packet size on the network.

    Now with the amount that happens in game, building going down, other environmental destruction, vehicle positions and movement, was well as player position and movement has to be updated for all players.

    They can theoretically allow more players to be playing in the same map, but the packet size to send updates with an additional players would push the limit on the size of the data packet each player is allowed to send over the network.

  • rojjer #18 1 year ago

    dolphin diving was the bane of BF2 when it first came out. Glad they nerfed it in the end, annoyed they stopped the ability to throw C4 packs whilst jumping. Used to love chucking it up at the underside of an enemy chopper whilst it was capturing a flag then blowing it up. Ahhhh... I can still hear the typed screams of the enemy

  • RoaringPanda #19 1 year ago

    @Private_Widdle

    I'm not sure that it's too bad idea, the PC gaming crowd are notorious for being very pessimistic and doom-saying about franchises such as Battlefield, CiV etc. At every bit of news they cry "Consoles are killing PC gaming" and "devs are raping us can't yoo see?!?!" while console gamers don't tend to get quite as anal about stuff like that, so by assuring the PC community that they are a priority they're hoping to suppress those fears. Wont work though, as a PC gamer myself I can't stand PC gaming communities like PC Gamer, full of contrarian types trying to get jollies out of being superior and negative over the internet.

    oh no im being negative too nooooooooooooooooooo
    Edited by RoaringPanda at 08/02/11 @ 15:35

  • FooAtari #20 1 year ago

    @MattyD
    "That's right Bagpuss, it's all console gamers' fault. Nowt to do with companies seeking a safe return on the millions they invest in randd for the engines and tech needed for today's games. YOU IMBECILE."

    While I don't agree with Bapuss' reasoning. This might be a little far of the mark as well. It has little to safe returns and more about milking it IMO. Read this interesting editorial a little earlier, which raises some valid points.
    [link url=http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/editorial/gaming/ooh-shiny--why-dlc-is-treating-gamers-like-idiots
    ]http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/editorial/gam...[/link]

    Perhaps we are all imbeciles for buying into it in the first place like a bunch of mugs.
    Edited by FooAtari at 08/02/11 @ 15:43

  • bad09 #21 1 year ago

    Wow no mods will upset a few I imagine! After doing what I have to the GTAs, Oblivion, Stalker even oldies like Doom, Quake mods are quite a big plus for me and I'm starting to look at more of my game collection for modding (just downloaded the Battlefront 2 total conversion mod to try!). It's why I changed my mind and did go for BLOPS after the disappointing MW2 as Treyarch are supposedly allowing mods (although I don't know what shape they will come in to be fair) after the map fleecing on BLOPS. Just saying DICE.... ;)

    Anyone game locking modders out will get a tick in the naughty box from me, not saying I won't buy a locked up game but if other similar games from other devs do offer mods your game may get overlooked.

  • Raptaur #22 1 year ago

    @RoaringPanda

    I think the console gamer doesn't get as upset is because they aren't gettiing things taken away from them. Seems you can't complain about something you never had in the first place.

    That being said however....

  • StooMonster #23 1 year ago

    No mod tools.

    Charge for DLC.

    Natch!

  • hollowroom #24 1 year ago

    @bad09

    This is my attitude as well. It's not a booking, but I will be watching them for the rest of the game, so to speak.

    For me, I actually don't have as much emphasis on mods as I used to, mostly because I don't have as much time as I used to - I just want to plug and play. But it's still a sign of a "good" developer in my book.

  • IronCladChicken #25 1 year ago

    'I'm not sure that it's too bad idea, the PC gaming crowd are notorious for being very pessimistic and doom-saying about franchises such as Battlefield, CiV etc. At every bit of news they cry "Consoles are killing PC gaming" and "devs are raping us can't yoo see?!?!"'

    I don't think it's PC gamers saying that man - it tends to be publications (like Eurogamer :) ) writing stories, and in the general console chat - The PC gamers posts I usually read tend to be the ones claiming that PC gaming ins't dying.

  • ChthonicEcho #26 1 year ago

    On top of all that, there will be liberal use of the strong language like f***, which sounds f***ing nice.

    Yeah, and the chat will filter swear words anyway, like in BC2? F@#!ing ridiculous, that.

  • dirtysteve #27 1 year ago

    I heard of bunny hopping, now dolphin diving. If there's an exploit, someone will use it.
    Bit disappointed with the mod tools decision, they add years to a game's life. Also I hope the jets are properly balanced, aircraft can be a bit annoying when ground to air options are limited.

  • Andee #28 1 year ago

    No mod tools would be going back on what they had previously suggested for BF3. I do hope it's just an initial public stance so as to be able to sell dlc in the shorter term after launch though.

    I be wanting to see a POE3!

  • Iain815 #29 1 year ago

    Fucking love swearing me.

  • bad09 #30 1 year ago

    @hollowroom

    See now I'm the opposite, although I've had a PC for years I never really modded until I switched to using one for all my main gaming. Now I'm hooked.

    / puts Nico Bellic in a spiderman suit and jumps in a go-kart, with 1st person mod of course :)

  • Shikasama #31 1 year ago

    He's right, I don't take proffesional gaming seriously, mostly because I am a well adjusted human being.

  • Raiten #32 1 year ago

    @FooAtari, yup that's pretty much what DLC has caused, back when pc gaming was at it's strongest developers had to make their products as good as possible, support it for as long as possible with free new maps/weapons what ever to stand above their competition, releasing mod tools just aided in this.

    All that ended up with current gen consoles when developers realised there's a crowd of people who are willing to pay for anything no matter what kind of a ripoff it is, even if creating it costs no more than one measly cent, you can sell it for half of new games price trough dlc channels and some will imagine it's worth their money. So yes, like you said we're the imbeciles for buying in to it.
    Tho it's also understandable on a platform like xbox where MS has strict control over everything, that even if a developer wishes to operate in the manner they used to, releasing maps etc for free, they're not allowed to. Beyond that, console gamers are extremely restricted on their platforms, so it's easy anyway to get away with all this, so it's no suprise some have created a mentality where purchasing products that cost nearly nothing to make, is money well spent.

  • PearOfAnguish #33 1 year ago

    "And does DICE want to focus on that or making the game? "

    That, please. Mods made BF1942 go from good to awesome. In its prime it was one of the best mod communities of any game, seriously impressive work being done.

    Can't say I'm surprised, though. Writing was on the wall since BF2 when they started blocking servers which didn't adhere to their rules from the server browser. No more silly low-gravity, stupidly funny jet-boosted jeeps, and definitely no cheat servers, which were not only handy for keeping cheaters away from the serious armchair infantry, but an absolute blast to play in anyway.

    "I used to play a great WW2 mod called Forgotten Hope"

    There are still loads of servers running FH. And it's still excellent.
    Edited by PearOfAnguish at 08/02/11 @ 18:29

  • Tyronne #34 1 year ago

    One thing I have learnt over the years is to never underestimate the intelligence of the mod crowd.Release the tools in whatever state they are in and given a few weeks,even days there will be people who have altered them to make them easier for others to use.

    I think it would be a very safe bet to say that if the tools were released today, in less than 24 hours there would be a multitude of maps to play upon and that number would only continue to grow (and yes there would be crap levels but that has been the case ever since wolfenstein was modded but the quality levels would soon be discovered)

  • Reverant #35 1 year ago

    Funny enough, I made a blog and wrote about this same phenomena....
    [link url=http://moamg.wordpress.com/2011/02/08/the-day-creativity-died-a-lament-for-modifications/
    ]http://moamg.wordpress.com/2011/02/08/th...[/link]

    I agree with the others who say we gamers dug our own graves mods-wise this past generation.