Xbox 360 Battlefield 3 better installed

By Robert Purchese Published 20 October, 2011

"Does make a difference, yes, absolutely."

Installing Battlefield 3 to the Xbox 360 hard-drive "absolutely" makes a difference, developer DICE has said.

Those who don't - or can't - use the optional "HD installation content" will be restricted to a "standard-def" version of the game.

"The controversy about this is that we actually let you do it on 360 for once. So what it does is it gives you the same abilities, kind of, as the PC and PS3. You can actually stream information from the hard-drive," Battlefield 3 executive producer Patrick Bach explained to Gamerzines.

"That's new for Xbox 360, but it's not a new idea for the gaming industry as a whole. No one has really tried to do it properly, so us doing it will create question marks."

"You could call it a standard-def version for the [Xbox] 360 if you don't have a hard-drive."

Patrick Bach, executive producer, Battlefield 3

"It does make a difference, yes, absolutely," he added. "The whole engine is based around streaming textures, streaming terrain and a lot of other content."

Battlefield 3 on Xbox 360 spans two DVD discs. The "HD installation content" can be found on disc one.

Offering both was a necessity of developing for Xbox 360, said Patrick Bach - as some models sell without a hard-drive.

"We need to give you the option of installing it, rather than just demanding it. You could call it a standard-def version for the 360 if you don't have a hard-drive," he added.

"For us, it's about how we can give you the most game ever, even though the hardware is over five years old."

Battlefield 3 multiplayer.

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 (83) Latest comment 7 months ago

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

  • Bi50N Verified Head of Global Communications, THQ #1 7 months ago

    This sounds like a job for Digital Foundry...

  • TechnicPuppet #2 7 months ago

    I like options.

  • kirankara #3 7 months ago

    lets see results then, please.

  • Ultrasoundwave #4 7 months ago

    This sounds like a a job for the next xbox...

  • fupoisme #5 7 months ago

    "[M]ost game ever". Win.

  • andytheadequate #6 7 months ago

    I will have to try clear some space on my harddrive then...

  • carlitoswagon #7 7 months ago

    How much hard drive space do we need to install it?

    5gb, 10gb ?? If it's more than 8.4gb I'm on the market for a upgrade.....

  • handsonhips101 #8 7 months ago

    On two discs and standard def if you don't have a hard drive. Oh dear.

  • Alastair #9 7 months ago

    Feck - I'm a cheapskate who bought a 4GB XBox... :o(
    Be interesting to know how much space the install needs.. maybe it would fit on a USB stick.

  • FireMonkey #10 7 months ago

    @kirankara - "lets see results then, please."

    Try this. Screen shots from the 360 single player campaign. By looking at them, I am guessing they used the HD textures.

    http://ruliweb.daum.net/news/view/37351....
    Edited by FireMonkey at 20/10/11 @ 10:55

  • DirectAim #11 7 months ago

    I need an upgrade, got 1.3 gig free!

  • geeza2020 #12 7 months ago

    Considering its one dvd's worth of content at the most, about 6GB?

    Cant believe I just used the word "content".

    /shudders
    Edited by geeza2020 at 20/10/11 @ 10:58

  • cyacomini #13 7 months ago

    This should be even more evidence that MS need to supply HDD's as standard when the next console arrives. I'm sure a 64GB SSD would be a good start!

  • Adamical #14 7 months ago

    So if disc one is the SP and two is MP, does that mean we need to have both installed to use the HD content for MP?

  • customfirmware #15 7 months ago

    This actually made up my mindfor which version I'm buying. If I have a pc I would go for that version but sadly not so I'll be picking up the ps3 version.

  • dpb135 #16 7 months ago

    @cyacomini - too right they do, but still let me take it off & move to another xbox. Dont want it like the ps3 though, I lost all my saves when I got YLOD & had to get a new slim.

  • FireMonkey #17 7 months ago

    @geeza2020 - "Considering its one dvd's worth of content at the most, about 6GB?"

    It could be compressed on the DVD and as they are streaming it from the HD I doubt they would be doing realtime un-compression so this could end up being more than 6GB. I highly doubt it, but...

  • FireMonkey #18 7 months ago

    @Adamical - "So if disc one is the SP and two is MP, does that mean we need to have both installed to use the HD content for MP?"

    MP is actually on disc 1 along with the HD content. Single player is on disc 2.
    Installing the HD content for the game from disc 1 will give HD content across both SP and MP. There is no need to install disc 2.

  • Dave52 #19 7 months ago

    @Adamical

    It sounds like the Install info is on one disc. Once it's on the HD, you only need to put in the relevant disc to play.

  • Retroid #20 7 months ago

    ~6.8gb max on a 360 DVD. Bear in mind that it could be installed to a USB stick, and that all 360s can have an HDD added (at an MS premium) - so shop around!

    I'm glad they've gone this route & experimented, better than just restricting streaming to the speed of the DVD drive.
    Edited by Retroid at 20/10/11 @ 11:13

  • slickster #21 7 months ago

    I think its time guys you should upgrade to a ps3 dont you. LOL

  • kirankara #22 7 months ago

    @firemonkey.

    cheers for that. they really do need to start putting out some recent console footage, as its been months of pc footage, but almost nothing on consoles.

  • Adamical #23 7 months ago

    Ahh. Thanks, FireMonkey.

    EDIT: And Dave52.
    Edited by Adamical at 20/10/11 @ 11:14

  • Lukus #24 7 months ago

    I don't get it. Is he literally talking about the screen resolution, or is it just a really misleading metaphor?

  • GamesConnoisseur #25 7 months ago

    Thankful got 250 gb HDD as proves to be essential, I agreed it was a mistake to provide non HDD 360 SKU after Xbox did have HDD whereas PS2 didn't. However this gen only got so much time left before next gen arrives with fanfares, and it's great that EA provides the option and I hope there will be more like this. Giving both non HDD owning owners chance to play and for those with HDD to take advantages of it.

    Would love to know actual market share of both types.

  • metalangel #26 7 months ago

    So when he says 'standard def', does he mean that those with an SDTV are wasting their time installing the HD disc?

    I wish they'd just give a straight answer instead of all that babbling about 'giving us the most game'.

  • carlitoswagon #27 7 months ago

    Forgot about Back to Karkland DLC ..... will need upgrade.

    /curses his 20gb's inferiority.

  • FireMonkey #28 7 months ago

    @slickster - Upgrade? Both consoles perform pretty much the same so that'd be a pretty poor upgrade.
    If you are wanting to upgrade the only real route is to go to PC.

  • Jwarl #29 7 months ago

    The non-HDD SKU would be fine if Microsoft didn't charge an arm and a leg for the HDD upgrade. There are lots of casual users or users without an HD tv so offereing a flash based version makes good sense.

    I am not sure why we are comparing the non-HDD Xbox to a PS3. You can get an HDD Xbox for the same price as a PS3!

  • arcam #30 7 months ago

    Is he literally talking about the screen resolution, or is it just a really misleading metaphor?

    He's most likely talking about the resolution of the textures, not the screen. So it will still run at 720p, but textures will look muddier and less-defined.

  • Darren #31 7 months ago

    @cyacomini - I can almost guarantee you will not see SSDs used in the next Xbox as (a) they are very expensive compared with hard disc drives (HDD), which means (b) they'll have a limited capacity in comparison to HDDs; and (c) they have limited lifespans as the cells eventually wear out and become unusable. My own 128 GB Crucial M225 SSD in my PC, which is only used for Windows not games installations, is 16 months old and already down to just 4% of its estimated remaining life. 0% doesn't mean it will fail, just that the number of writable cells available is decreasing to the point where the drive will no longer be writable at all. So unless SSD technology improves substantially over the next couple of years then the chance of seeing an SSD in an off-the-shelf console will be zero IMO.

    And even if Microsoft did sell SSDs for the next Xbox, would anyone be able to afford them given how expensive and overpriced the HDDs are the current Xbox 360? ;)

  • cyacomini #32 7 months ago

    @Darren - isn't it thecase though that SSD's with 'Trim' functionality don't wear out?

    Forgive my ignorance - never bought or used an SSD before.

  • DiamondIce #33 7 months ago

    @slickster
    It pains me to say this as I could never use something I use for work as a gaming system but if we are going to upgrade I would suggest to a PC in this instance.

  • SniperZoz #34 7 months ago

    I wonder how it will work on the PS3 ... cos' I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that stream from BD is actaully a tiny bit slower than from DVD! .... I guess on PS3 it will simply be a mandatory install!

  • FireMonkey #35 7 months ago

    @metalangel - "So when he says 'standard def', does he mean that those with an SDTV are wasting their time installing the HD disc?"

    No. Imagine that the SD textures are 10 pixels by 10 pixels and the HD are 100 x 100. Now imagine you walk up to a wall so that that you get a single wall texture covering the entire screen.

    On an SDTV with SD textures you would have a screen height of 480 pixels with the 10 pixels of the texture spread across it. That means each pixel on the texture would be shown on 48 pixels on the TV.
    Now, still with an SDTV but with the HD textures you would still have a screen height of 480 pixels, but would have 100 pixels of the texture spread across it. That means each pixel would be shown on only 4/5 pixels on the TV (and so the image looks better).

  • ShovelyJoe #36 7 months ago

    I think this is a bit shabby personally. I haven't got even close to that amount of room on my HD. So I either play it in standard definition (which is totally fking pointless) or I have to pay for the game and pay for a new hard drive, which is never gonna happen this late in the lifespan of the box.

    I can't for a moment imagine I am the only one in this position and if they think for a moment that 'more' game means you can only play it in SDTV unless you have a hard drive then they are a bigger bunch of c*nts than I imagined.

    F*ck this game. EPIC FAIL.

  • UnblestCarpet #37 7 months ago

    So did the beta use HD textures?

    I suspect so.

  • Widge #38 7 months ago

    It's not a mistake to have launched with no HDD as such but it does mean any development of games has to be done from the perspective of your base hardware level being hard driveless. This is along with the idea of why it's a terrible idea to add something like a 2nd analogue stick to a one stick handheld console.

  • bad09 #39 7 months ago

    It may be harsh but what do people expect with hardware 6 years old? This is the price you pay for a longer hardware generation sadly, MS was first out the door so first to look dated in terms of tech (ignoring the purposely underpowered Wii of course), it's looking like we need the next gen pretty quickly though as current machines are starting to struggle with what devs want to do.

  • ShovelyJoe #40 7 months ago

    Actually - I am so f**king angry about this. How many people that buy this game at full retail price are going to know that unless they have the hard drive space they can only play it in standard definition?

    Are they putting this as a warning on the box? Please be aware you will get a substandard game unless you have a hard drive with enough space for the install They wont because it will freak people out and impact their sales. And that fills me with rage!!!!

    I understand the idea, I understand the limitations of the new machine, I understand this game has lots of shiny shiny that other games dont have, but ffs develop a product for the current market. Everyone else manages to put a HD game on the disk without requiring a massive install - why can't you?

    FAIL FAIL FAIL

  • kongzi #41 7 months ago

    This really doesn't bode well for overall performance on either console. First they were really vague on console versions and now they're constantly chatting them down. But we'll see.. I'm not gonna pick it up day one, I'll wait until I know what I actually get with it.

  • Bibbo #42 7 months ago

    I'll be installing both discs as usual anyway. Every game I play, I install.

    Now what with the PS3 version? Will that fetch a mandatory install? My mates shitting a brick, his 60GB PS is on its last legs, and doesn't have much space left, GT eating alot of his remaining free space.

    I'm thinking surely the PS3 BR will be in the same boat here. Partial install + BR Streaming?

  • FireMonkey #43 7 months ago

    @ShovelyJoe - Calm down. You have got a little muddled up by this (I don't blame you, it is a little confusing)

    This is HD textures and NOT HD resolution.

    If you have a HDTV you can STILL play in HD without a hard dirve it is just that the textures will be of a standard quality.
    That will still look much better than running in SD with the same standard quality textures.

    "Everyone else manages to put a HD game on the disk without requiring a massive install"
    Yes and so have they, but not every game puts HD textures in the game. You are actually getting optional improvements for this game rather than just being kept at the lower quality like most other games.

    See my previous post #38
    Edited by FireMonkey at 20/10/11 @ 12:01

  • evild_edd #44 7 months ago

    Not hugely happy with this news.

    I have the title on preorder, but not enough space on my HDD. I'm getting increasingly frustrated with the restrictive space on my 20gig HDD, so this might be the thing to make me finally shell out for a larger HDD. More and more titles are "better on 360 if you can install", so I'm beginning to think I'll just have to bite the bullet :p

    Edd

  • Spungles #45 7 months ago

    @handsonhips101
    Are you saying that's bad? Almost every 360 owner has a hard drive. Installing means 2 discs isn't much of a hassle. What was your point? Keep stirring the shit, you'll have yourself a cake one day. A cake of shit.

  • Dave52 #46 7 months ago

    @Bibbo, Lucky for your mate, it's absolute cake to install a large HD in a PS3, and it's pretty cheap too.

    I suspect there will be a large mandatory install for the PS3 (as there seems to be for most PS3 games). I've got a large HD in mine, so no worries for me. I can't wait for this game...!

  • ShovelyJoe #47 7 months ago

    @FireMonkey

    Cheers for the clarification. I am extremely hung over this morning and feeling quite emotional. Just nailed a bacon sandwich and it hasn't helped at all. On my third cup of tea and all I really want is a bottle of lucozade but they dont sell it in Malta which is really irritating. In fact I miss it so much I even looked into getting the license to import it : )

    Think I am just gonna go and lie on the beach for the rest of the afternoon and sleep this off.

  • Spungles #48 7 months ago

    @ShovelyJoe

    Or just buy a 16gb USB stick for tenner and install it to that.

  • FireMonkey #49 7 months ago

    @ShovelyJoe - Wanna trade? Sunny Malta without lucozade for wet cold England with lucozade? 8)

  • slickster #50 7 months ago

    @Dave52, Im the same ive got a 500GB in my ps3 it cost me £37 pritty sweet. so bring on battlefield 3 yeah baby :o)

  • Ranger101 #51 7 months ago

    I wouldn't install this on a USB stick - the BUS speeds transferring the textures will be too slow.

    It's interesting to know that HD texture packs are being offered - I'm guessing the Beta had the SD texture pack to minimise download sizes, so this is a good thing. At worst, Non-HardDisk owners will have Beta visuals, and for those with HDisk's will ahve pretty pictures.

    Nice on DICE.

  • ubergine #52 7 months ago

    So how will improved graphics hit performance for multiplayer?

  • kassmageant #53 7 months ago

    anything that squeezes more juice from my aging system is fine by me, but there can't be that many xbox owners who would be interested in that game and they wouldn't bought system with HDD - it's obvious that vanilla editions of console are for people who play from time to time, not for people who count days separating them from launch of new map pack for their favorite fps.

  • joelstinton #54 7 months ago

    @laflamabanca

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geTOvrUVPTE this should ease your fears, ps3 footage, probably can find better resolution vid on net.

  • Dave52 #55 7 months ago

    @joelstinton - thanks for the link - it looks pretty damn fine on the PS3.

  • joelstinton #56 7 months ago

    no problems. I would imagine, that after the beta uh oh is this really battlefield? , this is the full game in flow, with HD textures. Beta was probably, non HD pack, and even more compressed as well. Hopefully :) Looks really nice.

  • mss99 #57 7 months ago

    PS3 version then. My 20Gb 360 has about 1.5Gb free and it will be a cold day in hell before I pay the money Microsoft want for a HD upgrade.

  • RevanNL #58 7 months ago

    Having a model without a harddrive still is the dumbest decision MS made during the development of the 360.

  • mattk84 #59 7 months ago

    I have a 120 gig HDD and always have plenty of room. I always install new games when they are being played regularly but once they drop down the playlist uninstall. Usually the only benefits are saving wear and tear on the DVD drive and noise reduction but this is clearly an added bonus.

    Interesting that these details are still creeping out so close to launch.

  • Whatascoop #60 7 months ago

    Extra heat inside an xbox just what the Microsoft returns department wants.

  • Nephirion #61 7 months ago

    I was just thinking to myself I haven't seen a new BF3 article for at least 24 hours, oh wait ....

  • mattk84 #62 7 months ago

    "I was just thinking to myself I haven't seen a new BF3 article for at least 24 hours, oh wait .... "

    Its the next imminent huge release so what do you expect? DICE want to keep it in on the front pages of sites such as this to sustain/raise interest.

    Early November will be chock full of MW3 stuff.

  • Stratix #63 7 months ago

    This a fantastic idea, more games should offer this.

  • NotSoSlim #64 7 months ago

    PS3 has an option to install hi res textures like 360 and has mandatory install apparently.

    DICE seem to have taken care getting this on PS3 so not worried plus i what i played at Expo looked great

  • baldyroach_2011 #65 7 months ago

    Is there a good chance that this will brick a lot of Xboxes?

  • DoctorFraud #66 7 months ago

    It going to look and play better on 360 than PS3, installed or not.

    No drama.

  • MARKIV #67 7 months ago

    Every game is better installed to the HD, except for Halo 3 multiplayer. Talk about stating the obvious!

  • kirankara #68 7 months ago

    "DoctorFraud
    20/10/11 @ 13:46

    It going to look and play better on 360 than PS3, installed or not.

    No drama."

    Fanboy/troll much ???

  • Raptaur #69 7 months ago

    I bought my xbox 360 hard disk off eBay, 250Gb for £35

    Yeah its not an 'offical' xbox disk, but the thing worsk perfectly well and has done for the last year

  • Raptaur #70 7 months ago

    I bought my xbox 360 hard disk off eBay, 250Gb for £35

    Yeah its not an 'offical' xbox disk, but the thing worsk perfectly well and has done for the last year

  • Al_Swearengen #71 7 months ago

    Oh DICE, come on now. I knew that comment was going to confuse people. And EG you should REALLY post a clarification on what that term means to those without a HDD or the space to install. Surely you must have known people would get the wrong idea about the use of the term 'standard-def'.
    Unqualified, that comment implies that the game will stream in a sub-HD screen resolution which is not remotely what he is referring to. He is talking about the resolution of the textures, not the overall screen resolution.

  • darkcult #72 7 months ago

    Great news, they are really pushing good old 360 as far as they can. Bring it on! More games should do the same until the next gen comes along.

  • MattRobson #73 7 months ago

    im sure you can use external devices if your tight for space cant you?
    Im sure i formatted a section of my External HDD to be used for my 360... never used it but i'm certain you can.

  • Al_Swearengen #74 7 months ago

    @MattRobson

    I tried that a while back and my 360 couldn't see the partition. I'm guess becasue it was not the primary partition. I didn't persevere with it but I imagine it you format the primary partition (16GB max.) for use with the 360 then it will probably work.

  • whome #75 7 months ago

    will it make a difference, probably, will it make THAT much of a difference, no, don't believe it, I've never played a beta that looked very different to the finished product.

  • metalangel #76 7 months ago

    @FireMonkey: Thanks for the answer, better than the actual devs.

  • Smudge1983 #77 7 months ago

    What a whiney bunch you lot are. Its a fact that any game you install to the Xbox HD is gonna run better, just delete some old demos or something and pow you have some room. If you were wise Monkeys you would of installed Bad Company 2 so just delete that and enjoy.

  • Ryze #78 7 months ago

    @Spungles

    EXACTLY - a simple USB stick will enable a decent amount of content to be installed.

  • kassmageant #79 7 months ago

    @Ryze

    it will be to slow - and can damage the pendrive in long run - i burnt 8 gb kingston on my previous 20 gb xbox

  • handsonhips101 #80 7 months ago

    @Spungles:

    Clam down sweetheart! obviously touched a raw nerve. You say "almost every xbox owner has a hard drive" what about those who do not?

    take your shit cake and eat it yourself. douche.

  • ZaammK #81 7 months ago

    I love the fucking huge pull-quote in a news article, just to stir up as much controversy as possible. Oh Eurogamer, never change.

  • FireMonkey #82 7 months ago

    Looks like the HD textures are going to take up 1.5Gb
    http://www.enterbf3.com/news/590-copies-...

  • Alastair #83 7 months ago

    1.5 Gb would fit on the internal memory of my 4GB XBox... Would that count as a "HD install"??