"Significant" Battlefield 3 PC update due this week

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 21 November, 2011

Console patches to follow shortly after.

A "significant" Battlefield 3 update launches this week.

A console patch, which is in certification with Sony and Microsoft, launches shortly after.

The PC patch improves polish, stability, weapons balancing, squad control functionality, user interface enhancements and "several feature enhancements that address feedback the community has provided to date", DICE wrote on the Battlefield 3 blog. DICE will also remove "negative mouse acceleration".

DICE said it is continuing to analyse date to help ban and wipe the stats of those found cheating and boosting. The Swedish developer advised those who suspect players of unsportsmanlike conduct to click the warning sign next to their profile name in Battlelog or report the issue at the EA Help Desk.

"These leads will enable us to follow up on the report," DICE said.

Earlier this month DICE discussed the aspects of Battlefield 3 it is investigating.

DICE will tweak the tactical light attachment - used to blind enemy players. The brightness of the light will remain untouched, but its range will be reduced. Up close, the light will continue to be as effective as it is, but at a distance it will be less effective.

DICE is also looking into the mobile AA vehicles, which some players believe are too effective against jets and helicopters because they easily knock flying vehicles off their flight path and force a crash. The jets may see a change to help balance them better against ground vehicles, which can be easily repaired.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (32) Latest comment 6 months ago

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

  • metallicorphan #1 6 months ago

    did any game come out this Autumn that didn't need a patch?

  • coastal #2 6 months ago

    I'm all up for a tweak on the tactical light. The main reason I'll use the IRNV so I can avoid being blinded.

  • billy-beauts #3 6 months ago

    Oh well. I traded it in today. It's not a bad imitation of COD, but just like COD it's highly repetitive and boring. As FPS go Killzone 3 is more fun.

  • Sodding_Gamer #4 6 months ago

    @metallicorphan

    It's called the "COD Effect" Trying to push out games to compete.

  • DwarfyP #5 6 months ago

    @Sodding_Gamer Wouldn't that mean CoD has a lot of bugs in it at launch. tbh CoD has been relatively bug free in comparison to BF3.

  • rochyroch #6 6 months ago

    COD:MW3 should be fairly bug free by now, they have had quite a few years to get them sorted!

  • Sodding_Gamer #7 6 months ago

    @DwarfyP

    Maybe because COD has been the same for like 4 years? Nothing new to create bugs!

    And why the hell have I been negged?! It's obvious that BF3 needed a little more time. Still an amazing game just not as polished as BFBC2 was.

  • Adamical #8 6 months ago

    @billy-beauts:

    You're kidding, right? Not a bad imitation of CoD?

    Roll on the patch, to be honest. I await the balancing.

  • billy-beauts #9 6 months ago

    @Adamical Yeah it feels more or less the same to me; you sit on the edge of your seat, all tense, and run and gun and act like more of sneaky fuck than everyone else so you can ultimately unlock big weapons and pwn more noobs.

    As I say, it's fun for a while, but ultimately a tad soul crushing IMHO.

  • sebsal #10 6 months ago

    I've not been able to play on punkbuster servers since Friday. Lots of people are experiencing the same problem. previously it was fine

    Id quite like that fixed first please

  • Adamical #11 6 months ago

    @billy-beauts

    I can understand that as a criticism of CoD, but Battlefield offers a lot more in the way of variety - I think the maps and vehicles alone change the experience drastically.

    It's a shame you don't get out of it what a lot of EGers, including myself, do, because it's hella good!

  • rojjer #12 6 months ago

    lol, MW3 is NOT bug free - try playing it. I've since traded it, way to formulaic now

  • Hell_Toupee #13 6 months ago

    The main problem I have with Battlefield right now are the maps. Fair play to DICE for re-introducing 64 player limits on the PC, but it's clear these maps where built with the rush/infantry mindset. So many maps take place in large built up areas, meaning trying to push forward with a tank usually ends up in having it pelted with several dozen rockets from engineers who can run in and out of cover with relative ease. I was hoping for some huge open areas to encourage some epic tank battles rather than being kettled into rocket spam bottlenecks.

    I hope the back to Karkland expansion will re-address this issue. Beyond that, the irritating kill cam that can't be skipped and doesn't allow you to choose your loadout while you wait, the tactical light blinding you while out in the open and on a bright sunny map, the seemingly random hit detection that occasionally means bullets disappear into the ether when fired and Metro still being a bug ridden mess (I'm more in danger of being swallowed by the ground as I am being shot by an enemy player) all still need fixing.

    Despite these complaints however, I'm still mildly addicted to this. It might be quite the successor to Battlefield 2 I was hoping for, but when it hits it's stride it's still one of the best online FPS I've played in a long time. Hopefully with a few much needed tweaks and fixes DICE might get it closer to it's predecessor than it is now.

  • geox30 #14 6 months ago

    You can't expect a game,especially a multiplayer oriented one,in the magnitude of BF3 to be bug free at its early stages.No matter how much beta testing has been done,it will have bugs.Things will be ironed as time goes by and people actually playing it.As for comparisson with COD,bugs or not,as far as multiplayer is concerned,it is simply non existant.

  • billy-beauts #15 6 months ago

    @Adamical Maybe I'm just not doing it right. But, on Conquest one team is too often getting spawn trapped on the smaller maps and on the large open maps everyone's just driving around in vehicles winning checkpoints and then moving on in one big merry-go-round. As for Rush, I'm sure I'd find it more fun if I had regular squad mates, but playing with randoms is often far to frustrating as both attacking and defending checkpoints requires coordination if you're playing against anyone halfway decent.

  • Bravestinsane #16 6 months ago

    @billy_beauts

    ahh that makes sence.

    It isn't CoD if you don't work as a team you fail.

    So yeh squad mates you know can be a big help, too many retards play the game... i mean how stupid do you have to be to not notice 2 people int he same squad have the same squad perk, pick something different ffs.

    You should find mates go as a squad of 4 a lot better.

  • jrb #17 6 months ago

    @metallicorphan as all software is written by humans there will always be bugs that need patches. get over it.

  • Totza #18 6 months ago

    @metallicorphan

  • Adamical #19 6 months ago

    @billy-beauts

    That's fair enough.

    You should've played with the EG guys, though. A good team makes a huge difference.

  • Lukree #20 6 months ago

    Actually I was a bit surprised how well the game behaves after horrible beta.

    The amount of different play options is mind boggling. I am eager to test some sneaky recon action or helicopters. I have just scratched the surface after 30 hours of battlefielding!

  • Lukree #21 6 months ago

    Would love to see more open tank maps, though!

  • stoopidgreg #22 6 months ago

    The mobile AA's are far too powerful. I jumped in one for the first time on Caspian Border and destroyed no less than 9 jets and choppers without any of them spotting me. I think a good way to balance it could be to have a permanent marker on them like they do with the mortars, because if an AA is well hidden behind trees it's very hard to spot and you can't rely on your team to spot it for you. They could also reduce the speed of the bullets and give them more drop so you can no longer snipe helicopters a mile away.

    Not sure how they're going to balance the planes so they're more effective against ground targets. If you know how to fly a jet then it's easy to get a one-strike kill, just go as high as possible then dive down, you'll get a sure hit. The problem is when people don't know this tactic and they can't kill a tank in one gun run, the engineer will repair it to full health before they go for a second run. Maybe it would be an idea to only allow the tank to repair to 90% health after it's gone down below 50%, and if it drops below 50 a second time then it can only repair to 80% and so on. It would be a bit more realistic and would stop people rampaging in tanks with 2 engineers constantly repairing it faster than anyone can take it out.

    They also need to fix the roof camping exploit in Canals. Once a team of snipers gets up on that warehouse the other team doesn't stand a chance. The roof mesh is also bugged as you can't shoot through the openings so you can't even kill them from underneath.

  • Bigkopman #23 6 months ago

    It can only work as a squad based game if you can bloody hear each other! My friends and I have had so many issues communicating because the voices cut out. We have even joined maps as a squad in the menu and then been split up or put on opposing sides, ffs!!
    They really need to sort these kind of issues with the patch.

  • meggsy #24 6 months ago

    Wonder if any effective anti-cheat stuff is being brought in, Punk Buster seems completely useless.

    Saw someone go 110+ kills for 10 deaths in a round last night, the guy boasted in chat that he was using hacks, his profile showed over 1000 score per minute and he's played over 50 hours like this.

    Reported the player but I doubt it will make a difference.

  • iamtheoneneo #25 6 months ago

    from the looks of the server numbers there wont be any players left by the patch rolls around.

  • arcam #26 6 months ago

    @meggsy

    Try and stick to servers with active admin. I also came across a guy cheating yesterday - he got to 50-odd kills in the first 5 mins but was kicked and banned by admin after a few people complained in the chat. That's the best kind of anti-cheat system.

  • DDevil #27 6 months ago

    Come play on the EG server. It's called "Multiplay :: Eurogamer Hooah". You're all welcome.

  • Gurgeh #28 6 months ago

    They need to fix the static AAs too so they can't be used to damage vehicles on the same side - starting to see this happen more often with someone camping inside the turret and just destroying stuff on the ground.

  • cyber_nicco #29 6 months ago

    The mobile AA devices ARE NOT too powerful against jets. Don't change that!!!

  • azic #30 6 months ago

    I can't fucking believe the idiots on his forum calling BF a copy of COD.
    check BF1943 release date and see who copied who you tits.

  • metallicorphan #31 6 months ago

    @azic

    I take it you mean BF1942

    and anyway,we all know BF and COD were copied off MoH ;)

  • cyber_nicco #32 6 months ago

    The patch has caused me tons of crashing problems, both as a server admin and as player. I hope they sort this out soon.