Battlefield 3 multiplayer maps detailed

By Fred Dutton Published 13 October, 2011

DICE talks through three new stages.

Battlefield 3 developer DICE has lifted the lid on a few of the game's multiplayer maps.

In a new post on the title's official blog, level designer Niklas Åstrand explained the thinking behind four of the nine maps that ship with the finished game later this month.

Anyone who has checked out the game's ongoing open beta should be familiar with Operation Metro, but Tehran Highway is new.

"One of the inspirations for this map was a photo of a night time skyline of Tehran which now is basically the same vista that is available in the game," he explained.

"You start up on the hills above the city outskirts and eventually work your way into town. This atmospheric night-time map, where you can see rockets lighting up the sky, has a balanced mix between vehicle and infantry focus.

"It plays length-wise and starts semi-open with plenty of room for vehicles, but ends on a much more urban and tight note with less focus on vehicles and more on infantry."

Then there's Operation Firestorm, a huge vehicle-friendly map set in the Iranian desert.

"Size-wise, and with some puzzle skills, you could actually place three Atacama Deserts - one of the largest maps from Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - within the playable area of Operation Firestorm," said Åstrand.

"This is a wide-open desert map where the burning oil fields in one direction are contrasted by clear blue sky in the other direction. Construction sites dotting the area bring interesting possibilities for infantry to hide in elevated positions, spot vehicles, and take them down by mortar or RPG."

Finally, Damavand Peak is a rugged mountainous stage designed to let players fling themselves off its cliffs.

"Damavand Peak, internally known as Base Jump, is built on the idea that we want players to be able to base jump, and features our most extreme height differences ever in a Battlefield map," he explained.

"Attackers in Rush and Squad Rush will start high up on a mountain ridge above a mining facility. The only way down into the valley is to somehow make the 500 meter descent. The further the attackers progress in the map, the more vehicle warfare will be present.

"There is also a large tunnel section dug into the mountain side at the bottom of the map, and the view when you look up at the starting location is spectacular."

DICE is promising to reveal the other five maps later this week.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (44) Latest comment 7 months ago

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  • FearCrads #1 7 months ago

    Only 9 maps on disc?

  • evild_edd #2 7 months ago

    Sounds like only 9. I'd rather have 9 decent maps than a dozen where you end up playing only a few of them.

  • hiddenranbir #3 7 months ago

    Base-jumping progression? Rush maps ftw!

  • bad09 #4 7 months ago

    Only nine maps? LOL so for all their childish COD bashing they can't even offer as much content as the last COD, brilliant :)

  • oceanmotion #5 7 months ago

    I hope they do free DLC like Bad Company 2..

  • DUFFKING #6 7 months ago

    I'm not sure if you're trolling or not bad09, because that's a pretty dumb comment.

    Usually a single stage on a rush map is as big as, if not larger than even the largest CoD map. And then the conquest stages are several times bigger.

    I still don't see the point of rush maps, though. What was wrong with the Conquest: Assault style used for Karkand et al? I hope back to Karkand isn't going to be a rush map.

  • Haq-1 #7 7 months ago

    @bad09

    You could probably fit 5 COD maps in Operation Firestorm. Quality over Quantity my friend

  • Macross #8 7 months ago

    rush isnt my cup of tea, hopefully theyl be just as awesome on conquest

  • bad09 #9 7 months ago

    @DUFFKING

    No I'm not trolling, I only tend to troll the trolls around here here :)

    I just find it funny that after all their handbag swinging they have 5 maps less than BLOPS.

    (although predictably having a laugh at that seems to have upset the BF fanboys!)
    Edited by bad09 at 13/10/11 @ 17:50

  • hollowroom #10 7 months ago

    Any info on the 64 player conquest maps? Another Dragon Valley or Operation Harvest would be nice.

  • metalangel #11 7 months ago

    9 maps, one of which is Operation Metro, a map so terrible it should actually count as minus two maps.

  • arcam #12 7 months ago

    There are another 4 maps but DICE will only give them to you if you pre-order or pay extra.

  • metalangel #13 7 months ago

    @arcam: Only people who buy games sight unseen deserve nice things. Doubly so if they still have a preorder after that beta, which wasn't a demo, really, we just bought loads of advertising for it by mistake!

  • NKSR #14 7 months ago

    That sounds like fun - cue us few throwing ourselves at mcom stations while the rest of the squad sits at back at the top of cliff sniping.

  • mattk84 #15 7 months ago

    Like the sound of Damavand Peak. Mobile spawn ftw!

  • AdamAsunder #16 7 months ago

    Revealing another 5? That makes 10 in total surely? 2 beta, these 3 outlined and....

  • arcam #17 7 months ago

    The worst thing is I am now a part of the problem - I have pre-ordered BF3 with a frown on my face and a bad taste in my mouth, but they really left me no choice. For me BF3 is a multiplayer game, so without pre-ordering I'd basically be missing a third of the game.

    edit: Anyway, enough bitching - these maps do look very nice, and I love a bit of base-jumping. I'm also hoping for something as good as Dragon Valley (my favourite map) - these three sound quite urban.
    Edited by arcam at 13/10/11 @ 18:25

  • Cobalt_Jackal #18 7 months ago

    24 players on consoles is still not enough (infact its a joke), we need at least 32 players on console. (And don't tell me it can't be done when the PS3 has proven it can 32 players just fine with no problem). With 24 players the maps feel empty/dead on console. IMO you don't get that busy/chaotic all out war vibe, i don't feel like im on a battlefield. 24 players on console again is just not enough.

  • kutocer #19 7 months ago

    @Cobalt_Jackal

    What game and what engine was used to run it at 32 may I ask. Do you know that the Frostbite engine is already pusing console hardware to it's limit's.

    I can bet you now that they will not feel empty as they will be scaled down to fit 24 players. If you have ever played a BF before (not including BC) then you will know that DICE have always made maps that scale down to how many people the server can host.

    I hate these "other games can do it so why can't this do it" comments. IF you think you can do better go ahead make my day and FAIL!!

  • maxb #20 7 months ago

    after being very dissapointed with bc2 i find myself getting more and more excited about this!

    Negged for looking forward to a game and not just giving up after not liking a game that although I could see why people enjoyed it but it just wasnt for me and maybe this one wont be either but will happily pay to find out
    Edited by maxb at 13/10/11 @ 23:18

  • super_monty #21 7 months ago

    @Cobalt_Jackal

    try MAG, really good fun.

  • abot #22 7 months ago

    These maps look awesome. Can't wait for part 2.

  • metalangel #23 7 months ago

    @kutocer: Frontlines: Fuel of War had 32 players on console.

  • kutocer #24 7 months ago

    @metalangel

    On a engine that is as advanced as Frostbite 2?

    Just because another engine can doesn't mean all engine's can or should. Good thing that consoles are getting dedicated servers as it would have been less then 24 as there is just not enough memory in either console to support that many players.

    I just get wound up with the comments because another game can then this should and I've heard it so many times since they announced BF3. Console players are at least getting the game and from what I've seen looks pretty darn good from what I've seen on very old hardware not running DX10/11 and ram to support the amount that is going on.

    Oh and I'm not a fanboy I'm a gamer and have owned at one stage or another all machines but I started online gaming with PC and BF42 and that is where the best experience is and BF3 is just going to show that again just like they did with BF2.

    Kut...

  • Bennyjj81 #25 7 months ago

    No Kutocer, you ARE a fanboy. How can you get 'wound up' over somebody elses opinion that is different to yours over a game that isn't even out yet?? We all have our views on what it will be like but none of us will really know for a fortnight. The defence of this game BEFORE it's even been released is getting a bit embarrassing now.
    Edited by Bennyjj81 at 13/10/11 @ 20:39

  • Virtual_Entity #26 7 months ago

    Wow base jumping in a map! Can't believe how awesome is this game gonna be! I really hope this game sets a new benchmark when it comes out :-)

  • kutocer #27 7 months ago

    @Bennyjj81

    lol fan of the game yes, fanboy towards a platform NO!!

    I'll jump to the defence of anything before it's out to give it a chance instead basing my opinions on something I don't know what it's going to be!! I'm trusting DICE with BF3 as I believe they will hold strong on what they have always done and that is the multiplayer and what I'm buying the game for.

    I defended the engine because of the limitation of the console hardware and seeing comments like "they have it so should we" that isn't an opinion that is fact and that is what winds me up!! The slating the game is getting before it's out is embarrassing as well and a slating based on a BETA!!!

    Korn is about to release a album where they have got together with some big name Dubstep and DnB producers and I've seen alot of comments slaggin it of before it's even come out and I defended that by saying give it a chance ya never know you may just like it.

    Kut...

  • polaris70 #28 7 months ago

    Cobalt_Jackal
    I think we'll have to wait until next-gen for 64 player console maps with deformable terrain and destructable environments that also look pretty. Just one of those things, having said that 24 player maps didn't stop my enjoyment of BFBC2.

  • Bennyjj81 #29 7 months ago

    @Kutocer

    Ok fair enough, I respect what you're saying. I just think there are too many of these news stories about the game being turned into arguments. Everybody is entitled to their views be it good or bad. Until the game is finally released nobody will know for sure whether DICE have pulled it off. I really hope they do but the BETA left me cold somewhat. I'll still get the game as I have faith but I think people were entitled to criticise what ultimately was a poor quality BETA when you consider all the shouting by EA. Others thoroughly enjoyed the BETA and again that's fine. Doesn't mean the people who were disappointed are necessarily wrong. Let's all just see how it pans put. We haven't got long to wait. I've even booked the day off work for it but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly apprehensive. As for Korn? It all went wrong after 'Life is Peachy'. . . .
    Edited by Bennyjj81 at 13/10/11 @ 21:27

  • kutocer #30 7 months ago

    I agree everyone is entitled to they're opinion and I would never stop freedom of speech but as I stated before I was going on fact about the hardware side of things and that for people to give it a chance and don't make assumptions (and we know what they are the mother of) I personally loved the beta expect when it became a glitch/hack fest and then I stopped after maxing out the M249 :D I saw the issues and yes it was a buggy beta but I've seen worse in my time. Ahh EA shouting not DICE tbh I wish EA had just kept they're mouths shut and let the game and it's reviews do the talking. I have the upmost respect for DICE and what they have produced over the years as I've enjoyed all of the game's I've played from them. Had a many good session and clan matches on 1942 and kinda miss those days. EA on the other hand I used to think they was the devil dev but they have seen the errors of the old ways and have been trying to correct them but still have some issues.

    Haha I believe I have a long weekend from release and I won't be having my daughters that weekend as well so I expect coffee with a few red bulls over the weekend and very few hours sleep. Got a 64 slot server pre-ordered with a few friends so not gonna have any troubles finding a server as well.

    Tbh I've only been getting into Rock and metal over the past few years so I may have heard some of the tracks from it but not known the album. In fact gonna do some searching for albums and check them out more. It went mental on Facebook when they announced what they were doing and I saw comments from Korn fans and Noisa (other producers doing stuff but Noisa fans most vocal) condemning them to hell for trying something new and mixing Dubstep and DnB with metal and for selling out. I just said that they were artist and allowed to try something new and see if it would work and from the "Get up" track produced with Skrillex I think its pretty darn good but that is just my opinion.
    Edited by kutocer at 13/10/11 @ 21:42

  • costa_k #31 7 months ago

    People get easily misled.These are not big maps.In CB getting from flag to flag was about 30 seconds on foot,and if you notice the tight flag placement in Op. Firestorm it's obvious the same thing applies here:

    [link url=http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5607/j4ptjctnkbc7r.jpg
    ]http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5607/...[/link]

    These are fragfest arenas for the Bad Co/COD generation,and are the biggest of the map bunch.

    BF RIP.
    Edited by costa_k at 13/10/11 @ 22:23

  • kutocer #32 7 months ago

    lol BF RIP really hhmmm, Rush maps don't work the same as Conquest maps you do understand that yes? Do you also understand Rush will not be the main game mode and has never been the main game mode? Understand that Conquest will be much bigger and more open understand yes? 2 different modes for 2 different ways of playing. Rush was only introduced with BC and while it's a good game mode its not the best way to play BF. By the way people 9 maps with 2 different layout's.
    Edited by kutocer at 13/10/11 @ 22:39

  • polaris70 #33 7 months ago

    Hmmm
    I think each to their own. I got in nearly 300 hours playing Rush in BFBC2 and about 10 hours of conquest. So you can probably tell what mode I prefer ;)

  • metalangel #34 7 months ago

    @kutocer: It would seem it was more advanced in some respects than Frostbite 2, because it could manage 32 players on a console. If you connected to Kaos' special dedicated servers, the game supported 50 players on console.

  • TheEarlOfZinger #35 7 months ago

    10, if you include Karkand - surely.

  • andytheadequate #36 7 months ago

    Why do people not understand that 9 BF maps is a lot more than 9 maps for most other FPS games? On a normal Rush stage, there are usually 3-5 different stages. Each stage is much bigger than a normal game's map. Rush is also just one of the game mode, the Conquest maps will play a lot different as they are less funneled.


  • Geordiemp #37 7 months ago

    All hosted by a crap EA server in china to give us lots of Lag.

    Taking the FPS crown...not a chance. Lucky if it does 10 million.

    If we keep hammering EA maybe they will do something about it.

    Dont complain and EA pass and laggy EA published games are here to stay (not DICES fault)
    Edited by Geordiemp at 14/10/11 @ 09:43

  • carlitoswagon #38 7 months ago

    @Geordiemp - another troll added to the mix.

    Better with "pear to pear!??" hosting, as you commented the other day. Regards the peer to peer hosting. I was playing MW2 the other nite and having great fun. My problem was with host rage quitting, poor connection to host, and constant host migration. This is evident in plenty of matches, stops the action and ruins any sense of immersion while having a good online session.

    We all know EA have server problems, for the same reason cod has hosting issues and the same problems with lag.

    Am commenting as you seem to appear constantly, declaring how you're not a fanboy, yet post the same comment over and over again. You even told us your k:D ratio last week. Grow up.

  • maxb #39 7 months ago

    Didnt bc2 come with less than 9maps when it was released(i might be wrong) but that seemed plenty enough.
    As has been said before quality over quantity.

  • username84 #40 7 months ago

    There's a whole world out there where none of this matters in the slightest.

  • gamerindia #41 7 months ago

    @kutocer
    Killzone 2? Calm down , I know it's just a joke.

  • rudedudejude #42 7 months ago

    Rush & Conquest maps are usually quite different.

  • rudedudejude #43 7 months ago

    Love all the whiners -

    Only 24 players a map? Blame the gen hardware, it's not a fault of the game but the platform it runs on.

    Bad Lag? Get a fukkin grip, sort your shitty internet out. Maybe it's just luck that myself and everyone I play with get a great ping.

    9 Maps? Rush & conquest maps are quite different, and each rush map consists of 4 mini maps

  • kutocer #44 7 months ago

    @metalangel
    Just because a game can handle more players does not mean it's more advanced. Does it have destruction? does it have the same physics and lighting? I believe the answer is no to both. To say it is more advanced in some aspects because it can handle more players is naive. The engine can handle more then 24 but is limited by the hardware required to run it. Homefront has nowhere near as much happening in the game as BF3 does.

    @polaris70
    On BC2 I've probably got more hours on Rush then conquest but in the whole history of BF I would say I've done about 10% Rush and 90% on conquest. Conquest is the main mode of the game and what defined BF. Remember (on pc ofc) wanna play 64 player server then its conquest only where rush is max 32.

    @Geordiemp
    lol your's may be hosted in China but mine will be located in London just a little way down the road for me.