[majnu]

Communication is key to building a strong community, especially when millions of players are involved. Battlefield/Digital Illusions CE has one of the most dedicated following in the FPS genre – rightly earned thanks to their support for those who love playing their games.

Battlefield 3, one of DICE’s/EA’s most important launches ever, has been out on shelves for almost 5 months now. While it wasn’t graced with the smoothest launch ever, things are slowly but surely looking up. Unfortunately, despite the amount of work we know DICE is putting into Battlefield 3 – polishing and ridding it of bugs and and other annoyances, frustration is rapidly building within the community and is caused by that key strength DICE once possessed: Communication, or the lack thereof.

While many factors could possibly be contributing to this decay, be it EA’s rigidity of release date announcements or unwillingness to allow open dialogue between players and developers, one thing is for sure: The Battlefield 3 community has been kept in the dark for too long. While we’re not asking for a patch or DLC right this very instant, a little bit of transparency can go a long way.

Earlier today, community website, Battlefieldo, who recently merged with community podcast, Don’t Revive Me Bro, have taken the first steps in a plan to show EA that the Battlefield community is no longer willing to accept these standards of communication. Cory “Pr3esident” Niblett says it best in a recent article: “As a longtime battlefield player, community manager, and a person who knows what is going on with this community on a daily basis, I’m frustrated, you’re frustrated… Shouldn’t we expect better? At least acknowledge the existence of the issues we present, and have a very long list of things to work on.” He added, “we’re kept in the dark with no patch schedule, no details, and not even direct responses from DICE, at all.”

So, what exactly is going to be done about it? Cory explains, “So… this is what we’re going to do… as a community. We’re going to give Electronic Arts until Friday, March 2nd to announce the next major patch and the fixes that they have made, or are currently making. SOME acknowledgement of the outcry about the issues that is currently wrong with the game right now, today… Or we’re going to black out the entire battlefield community for 1 day, 24 hours, no playing, no posting, and no tweeting. Silence fed right back into the mouths of those who have chosen to give us the very same silence. We’ll be waiting for you to give us our community back EA, and put it in the very capable hands of the people who developed, and made the game.”

Battlefield 3 Community Manager, Daniel Matrols, has officially responded, sympathizing with the Battlefield community: “I completely understand the motives behind it.” He continued, “I support the BF community in any way I can and if you express your opinions like this, I must understand it.” Gameplay Designer, Tim Kjiell rightfully added, “Staying in touch with community and having a transparent workflow is key to the lifetime of a game. I understand and agree. Will do what I can to push for more direct comm.”

So, if you love Battlefield 3 and DICE, join the movement and show your support for #BF3Blackout on Twitter. We know MP1st will!

Update: The movement already seems to be gaining popularity and has warranted action from DICE. Matrols has claimed it a “top priority for tomorrow. Have some good ideas!”

MP1st – Battlefield 3 Community Initiates #BF3Blackout Movement

[Tankosaurus]

Don't even know why I follow the DICe guys on Twitter. They spout some crap and usually nothing about the game.

[majnu]

Originally Posted by Tankosaurus

Don't even know why I follow the DICe guys on Twitter. They spout some crap and usually nothing about the game.

Wll it's worked. Daniel Matrols posted up a list of fixes. I haven't had time to check them yet but I do hope it is for the xbox 360.

https://twitter.com/#!/zh1nt0/status/172650927893905408

[Sid skills]

Originally Posted by majnu

Wll it's worked. Daniel Matrols posted up a list of fixes. I haven't had time to check them yet but I do hope it is for the xbox 360.

https://twitter.com/#!/zh1nt0/status/172650927893905408

PC only fix list he says. Consoles might see it around next winter if we're lucky.

Oh and some of the fixes are a laugh

Edit:
They have changed it to all platforms now. Would be nice if this is the next patch and the reason it got held up.

[Scholes18]

Fixes are a farce.. Impossible to shoot down aircraft and especially choppers as an infantry soldier , hell even with guided shells..

[Sid skills]

Originally Posted by Scholes18

Fixes are a farce.. Impossible to shoot down aircraft and especially choppers as an infantry soldier , hell even with guided shells..

Normal for the current devs at DICE. Look what choppers were like in BC2 when a good pilot got in, expect the same now.
Thankfully ive only one map to worry about in B2K.

[Captain Speedy]

24 hour blackout, pffft, lightweights. I am nearing 3 months blackout now.

[Sid skills]

Originally Posted by Captain Speedy

24 hour blackout, pffft, lightweights. I am nearing 3 months blackout now.

im only at one week thanks to RDR and SR3.

[Tankosaurus]

Originally Posted by Scholes18

Fixes are a farce.. Impossible to shoot down aircraft and especially choppers as an infantry soldier , hell even with guided shells..

Can't believe they are taking one rocket away from the Engineers. Need all the stingers you can get to down those flare farting jets.

[richp007]

Someone remind me closer to the blackout, and I will take the day and fire up this bad boy for a 12 hr solid.

Minus all the numptys on the servers, it is guaranteed to be the best and only days worth of BF3 gaming we'll ever get

[Captain Speedy]

Hang-about, the blackout is due on the 2nd of March, the same day the new SSX game is released. Coincidence or government conspiracy??

[richp007]

Originally Posted by Captain Speedy

Hang-about, the blackout is due on the 2nd of March, the same day the new SSX game is released. Coincidence or government conspiracy??

So they are boycotting 1 EA game to play another!

That's ya classic BF numpty for ya!!!

[majnu]

Originally Posted by Sid skills

PC only fix list he says. Consoles might see it around next winter if we're lucky.

Oh and some of the fixes are a laugh

Edit:
They have changed it to all platforms now. Would be nice if this is the next patch and the reason it got held up.

Thank God. Now I need to see what is in the patch list which looks pretty hefty.

edit

first fix:

-Players should no longer take fall damage from short falls.



Now to read the rest.

[majnu]

Originally Posted by Captain Speedy

Hang-about, the blackout is due on the 2nd of March, the same day the new SSX game is released. Coincidence or government conspiracy??

Blackout should be cancelled since the list has gone out. I expect Battlefieldo to update their blog, that is if they haven't already.

I find it funny how quickly EA/DICE reacted and got a patch list out the same day.

[Scholes18]

Why cancel it. Just don't play the game till its properly balanced and not the aircraft whorefest it is now. Anyone want a cheap copy of bf3 before I shred it.

[KTroopA]

lol whats been going on lately, ive been way from BF3 for aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggeeesssss. and tbh i just wasnt digging the game at launch. it didnt feel right, and it seems i was not alone. EA did the same as before and fked the community quel surprise so what have i missed then if anything

[Se777eN]

Just play B2k on rush its all good

[majnu]

Originally Posted by KTroopA

lol whats been going on lately, ive been way from BF3 for aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggeeesssss. and tbh i just wasnt digging the game at launch. it didnt feel right, and it seems i was not alone. EA did the same as before and fked the community quel surprise so what have i missed then if anything

With the amount of fixes they've made it will feel like a new game or how the game should have been released.

- Added Horns to all Jeeps.

What were they thinking removing it in the first place.

- Extended mags for the ASVAL

Oh Yeh!

-The MAV can no longer be used as an elevator.

Thank God.

[mikerblade]

Two main gripes for my play style & also make no sense for realism (I know, being shot & revived but you get the point)

" Laser Guided missiles can now be distracted by Flares"

I thought that was what ECM perk was for, ah well, at least I can stop playing recon to unlock the Soflam.

" Claymores now live up to 5 seconds after a player dies, the player can have a max 2 claymores planted at the same time"

That now just makes them next to pointless, you claymore an area to prevent or at least slow the enemy from flanking ect, fire & forget weapon Imo.

The rest I'll see when the patch lands but the chopper love from the developers really has to stop, It's why I started playing TDM when I could never find any infantry only servers & to be honest it's where I spend most of my time now.

[Smurfin]

Am I the only one who enjoys this game then? People will always find something to moan about imho.

Not saying it's perfect, and I know there are bugs. But I've sunk 80 hours into this and I still love it

[d0ct0r46]

Originally Posted by Smurfin

Am I the only one who enjoys this game then? People will always find something to moan about imho.

Not saying it's perfect, and I know there are bugs. But I've sunk 80 hours into this and I still love it

I hated it on release, then came back to it about a month ago and now I like it. The patches since then have improved the game massively, at least they (dice) keep plugging away at trying to improve it.

Which can't be said about other devs

[Jimster71]

People have no patience these days and think that just because they want/demand something then it will automatically happen. If not, they throw a bit of a tantrum until they get it.

Just because dice/ea haven't said when the next patch is, doesn't mean they aren't working on one. The 'community' thinks it has some sort of right to demand things from dice/ea because they have bought one of their games. Calls of the game being 'unplayable' are farcical from people who have sunk 100+ hours into playing it.

Any game that gives anywhere near that amount of play time is well worth the cost, IMO. If they find it that bad, go and play something else instead.

I don't agree with some of the things that will potentially be in the new patch, but I will wait to see how it plays. If I don't like it, there are other games available.

[majnu]

Originally Posted by Smurfin

Am I the only one who enjoys this game then? People will always find something to moan about imho.

Not saying it's perfect, and I know there are bugs. But I've sunk 80 hours into this and I still love it

There are some things which you just have to accept and adapt to whilst they are getting patched - which is the case now.

But then there are some things which you can't adapt to or have no control of what so ever. These things whilst not totally game breaking do make playing BF3 frustrating.

I still want to see them bring in:

- Ping Kick system.
- Solve the mysterious Flashing Green lights
- Solve Broken Sound/Cutt Offs
- Footsteps from BC2. They are non existent in BF3.
- Fix broken servers. I want to play on Official UK ones.
- A working Party/Squad System which doesn't place your squad members on opposite teams.
- Colour Blind options

The patch list wont please everyone, but then that was bound to happen. It will be interesting to know what size it is.

[Jimster71]

Originally Posted by majnu

- Ping Kick system.
- Solve the mysterious Flashing Green lights
- Solve Broken Sound/Cutt Offs
- Footsteps from BC2. They are non existent in BF3.
- Fix broken servers. I want to play on Official UK ones.
- A working Party/Squad System which doesn't place your squad members on opposite teams.
- Colour Blind options

Ping kick would be nice, but not likely given the specs they will be working too (provided by Sony/MS).

Flashing green lights will probably be fixed at some point, it's just a graphical bug.

Similar with broken sound.

Apparently there are enemy footsteps in the PC version, so you would expect them in the console version.

Colour blind options are in the PC version and will be on console in the next patch.

I'd like the see some UK only servers, I often find the french/german players get a massive lag advantage in the game.

I've found the squad/party system ok. If you are in a squad and join a game, it will try to balance the players on the server. If the teams in the game have the same number of players, then you will get your squad split for that game to balance the server. Similarly, if there are less than 4 spaces on a side, then you will definitely get your squad split. When you finally get your squad together on the same team the game does a fairly good job of keeping you together, even if it sometimes swaps which team you are on.

[majnu]

Mad as Hell, And They're Going to Take It

I swear to Christ, Battlefield fans have to be the unhappiest people on earth.
They hate Modern Warfare. They hate Origin. They hate Electronic Arts and, for all I can tell, they hate the game they play so much. It's a community that seems committed to proving itself to be the most knowledgeable, least appreciated, least understood and most ******-off class of video gamer, an uber-treehouse among our treehouse culture.

This week Battlefieldo, described as "one of the larger Battlefield 3" communities, decided they'd had enough. Of what they have had enough, it's still not clear. It sounds like they resent a "lack of transparency and communication" between the game's developers, DICE, and the community, like we're talking about representative government. Alright. This is blamed on Electronic Arts, as most things are.

Well, Battlefieldo will not be ignored! The community called for the Battlefield equivalent of a general strike. Usually a boycott is what gets attention, but when the product was sold more than four months ago, there's not a lot of damage you can do to the bottom line. Battlefieldo called for 24 hours of silence—no playing, no server activity, no social media mentions. That'll show 'em!

Naturally, they're claiming victory. They got EA/DICE to cough up patch notes, everyone! Patch notes "including bugfixes, tweaks, and gameplay balancing changes." Oh, there's also going to be a weekly feature on the official Battlefield Blog called "Inside DICE."

There's a great deal of legitimate disenfranchisement felt in gaming, whether that is through DRM, obtuse, repeatedly revised EULAs, and **** like SOPA and PIPA. The Battlefield blackout plainly sought to capture the netroots spirit that has shut down obnoxious legislation and shed light on abusive publisher practices. And yet they went pitchfork-and-torches upon DICE in order to get ... patch notes and marketing copy? This is egregious self parody even in a culture well known for its disproportionate reactions.

If you want to talk about harm done to a video game community, Battlefield's can start by looking at itself. I have no desire to buy or play Battlefield 3 because its community seems to be staging a pageant to determine who can be the angriest hypercritical entitled ingrate in video gaming, which is saying a hell of a lot. Look at the reaction to the multiplayer beta. Look at the reaction to DICE's reaction. Read the comments any time anything is said about Origin or Modern Warfare 3.

Who the hell wants to be a part of that?

Hey folks, Something Negative is a rant. Love it or hate it, we all need to blow off steam on Fridays. Let yours out in the comments.

Quick Summary:

You guys should be like the Modern Warfare 3 fans and take whatever garbage the developers make for you and deal with it.

[Smurfin]

Actually I agree with that rant. Get over it people, it's just a game and if you don't like it, go play something else.

[leckytech]

Nevertheless it worked!

[AudioSlim]

All I want is the sound fixing. Couldnt care less about anything else.

Its so annoying flying some choper/tank with virtually no sounds playing. When its like that the Rocket up your ass is only a few seconds away!

Slim

[Anotherlimey]

Originally Posted by AudioSlim

All I want is the sound fixing. Couldnt care less about anything else.

Its so annoying flying some choper/tank with virtually no sounds playing. When its like that the Rocket up your ass is only a few seconds away!

Slim

Yeah the sound thing is really anoying, i tank whore alot and losing the sound of the tank turbo thingy is very anoying if i'm honest.

[majnu]

DRMB Episode #26 w/ Demize99 and zh1nt0 | BATTLEFIELDO

This week we had the extreme pleasure to talk live to Mr. Alan Kertz aka Demize99 who is the Core Gameplay Designer on Battlefield 3. We spoke to him about the upcoming changes to the Tactical light, IR scope, and other issues such as PS3 and PC voice, and mortar tweaks. After we spoke to him for about an hour we brought on Daniel Matros aka zh1nt0, the Global Community Manager for DICE. We questioned him ranging from upcoming community events to how to submit bug reports.
As always, we were streaming Battlefield 3 live thanks to Tye Webb on our Twitch.tv page. Follow us on Twitter and Twitch to be notified when we go live.
To subscribe to the Don’t Revive Me Bro Podcast on iTunes click here.
To download the episode please right-click Download under the player and select Save Link As.
Thank you for listening!