Battlefield 3 Open Beta: Wizard Gun

[Jamison Dance]

Early access to the BF3 beta begins in about 12 hours according to TRUE RUMORS (http://www.reddit.com/r/battlefield3/comments/krzyp/beta_access_codes_times_confirmed/). Who is in it? Meet up so we can shoot men together!

My origin name is Jergason. I hope to be on it in around 20 hours or so.

[BenWah]

i used to play BF2 on this computer, but I'm thinking its too slow for BF3

[GothicEmperor]

i used to play BF2 on this computer, but I'm thinking its too slow for BF3
If you've been steadily upgrading it, it shouldn't be too hard. Minimum specs aren't that high; a 3 year old PC ought to run it. A 6 year old PC wouldn't, of course.

[coldvvvave]

I'm not in it and I don't intend to since rumors also mentioned that it's going to have only one map and it's Operation Metro that was in alpha( I wasn't in alpha, but I saw plenty of yt vids of it), locked in Rush mode. Not that I don't want to play it, but I feel that it's just doesn't worth all the trouble to get in beta to play an infantry-map ina a Rush mode on lowest settings( settings are locked, right?). BF for me is 64players+bigassmap+tanks+jets+coolgraphics+conque st. I can wait for a full product.

[Jamison Dance]

The settings are not locked in the beta.

[rhizo]

I'm in it and probably playing later today if things go smoothly at work (and if of course the beta client download isn't effed up). I was watching some user generated content of the Operation Metro map and it really looked disappointingly CoDish; confined spaces, corner camping and also ridiculously hard to attack on rush. Nevertheless, I'll check this thread later and maybe team up with some of you guys if at all possible.

[BenWah]

Infantry maps are the best, the worst thing about BF2 was maps dominated by airpower..
Actually all of them were except the infantry only maps.

[lunarplasma]

It's not exactly 'open' beta though, as it looks like you need to be invited into it.

[Item!]

It's not exactly 'open' beta though, as it looks like you need to be invited into it.

If you have pre-ordered through Origin you get early access...though I believe it is opening up in a week or so to Joe Public?

[westyfield]

I was watching some user generated content of the Operation Metro map and it really looked disappointingly CoDish; confined spaces, corner camping and also ridiculously hard to attack on rush.

Apparently DICE have changed the map slightly since the alpha to make it easier for the attacking team.

[Jimmeh83]

Anyone know when the download is supposed to go live? Seems crazy they wouldn't allow a steam-like preload, their servers are going to melt :(

[ata]

I believe the beta is opening up for everyone towards the end of the week, origin pre-orders should be getting the emails later today.

[GothicEmperor]

It's 48-hour early access, so it'll open for Proletarian Pete up in about 51 hours from now.

From what I've heard, it's just the early access wot requires an invite.

[Jimmeh83]

The early access is a result of an Orgin preorder as far as I understand. So I should be able to play at some point today. Suppose I am waiting for an email then.

[Creeping Death]

I'm in the beta. Haven't gotten into a game yet though. As you can imagine most servers are full and they have this really stupid queue system to join a game. So you'll sit there in a queue of 40 people. Wouldnt be so bad if it meant you actually got in eventually right? Ha! Here's my experience;

Joined a queue of 60ish people. Was fine for a while, slowly dropped down the list. Realised when I was 7th in the queue that it suddenly put my back to fifteen... and again when I finally was first it pushed me back to second. How does that work? What is the point of a queue system? We may as well all get random numbers assigned to us.

The real kicker though was when I sat in first for 10 minutes or so, I eventually got the message "Reservation timed out."... Ha. Hahahahahahaha seriously? I only want to jump in a game so I can change my graphics/audio settings! Jesus...

Edit: Oh also, the new Nvidia driver. Make sure you have it! The game refuses to launch unless you have it :/

[JohnnyK]

ATI also has a preview driver that is supposed to improve performance:
http://support.amd.com/us/Pages/AMDCatalyst1110Previewdriver.aspx

[squirrel]

Still see usual number of players on Bad Company 2 tonight, played a few rounds, but may not be there any more after 28 Sept. So long Bad Company 2, fun while it lasts.

[Smashbox]

I believe the beta is opening up for everyone towards the end of the week, origin pre-orders should be getting the emails later today.

This is exciting and unexpected news!

[Jamison Dance]

Right now it is the same infantary-only map from the Alpha, but there are several mysterious locked servers running the conquest map with jets and such. I hope they open that up later on in the beta.

[SgtTimBob]

These are are first impressions from the beta:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPpEtLXvXr4

[DigitalSignalX]

Biscuits preview vid is pretty informative.


http://youtu.be/0POAnWAmV0w

[Wunce]

Biscuits preview vid is pretty informative.


http://youtu.be/0POAnWAmV0w

The video TB did on Caspian Border is much more positive:
PART 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9ndz13zUms&feature=feedu)

He doesn't use the support class though which is a shame because I've seen all of the others.

[squirrelfanatic]

When I read the title of this thread I was totally expecting a 'Magic Missile'-launcher or some kind of 'Colour Spray'-flamethrower. :(

[Rossi]

I've been playing the Caspian Border map. The password is given out by Zh1nt0 the community mod at EA/DICE. So you can play if you know the pass, you just need to keep an eye out as it changes every so often.

All I can say is, welcome back Battlefield. The Caspian Border map is amazing!

[Tei]

When I read the title of this thread I was totally expecting a 'Magic Missile'-launcher or some kind of 'Colour Spray'-flamethrower. :(

Maybe we can start talking about a non-existing weapon, so by the time this thread gets to page 3, future readers of the thread will not be disapointed.

I will start:

I hope the Open Beta Wizard Gun is included at release as a server option or something, because while it is clearly op, is very fun to use. It will be sad if the wizard gun weapon is removed at release.

[Doesn'tmeananything]

Alright, the beta seems to be available in most parts of the world. For the record it's 3.9 GB. Downloading now.

[z999]

How do I know if my country is in the beta? I keep refreshing the site but the download link doesn't seem to light up.

Edit: opened up here, dammit why didn't I think of creating an origin account before (>_<)

[duff]

Anyone playing this on a 470GTX?

I have an i7 860 @ 2.8ghz and a 470. Was thinking of upgrading to a 570GTX as I don't think my cpu will be bottlenecking me.

[Vandelay]

Downloaded and played for a little while. First thing, I'm really shit. Either that or the first gun for assault class is poor. I really struggled to use the iron sights with it in the open part of the Metro map. I think Total Biscuit mentioned something about this in his video too, although I only really skimmed it. Once in the tunnels things got a little easier, but my k/d ratio after 35 minutes was only 0.411 with an accuracy of only 13.1%. I get better accuracy using my Razer Hydra motion controls in most games!

Outside of my incompetence, I enjoyed what I played. Everything felt nice and visceral, whilst the graphics were as good as I was expecting. Little touches like the lens flare on a sniper rifle or being slightly blinded by a laser sight really add a lot, as well as some good texturing. Weapons felt reasonable to use (except my complaining above) and people go down with just the right number of hits.

Some of it isn't quite right yet, particularly some of the navigation around the map not being quite as easy as you think it should be. Perhaps I've just gotten used to playing Brink, but there seemed to be a lot of times when I went to do a leap over something and the model wouldn't do it. Sometimes the animation would even play, but I was still left standing on the wrong side. I also had many moments when I really wanted to lean, particularly when down in the tunnel section. Overall though, and remembering that I've only played on the infantry map, it is very nice.

I really dislike the menu system though. You can only open the menu when you are in the game and when you spawned. Want to adjust your graphics options? Wait until you are in the game. Want to check your audio is set right? Wait until you have spawned next to squad mate in the middle of battle. Want to check some key bindings? Yep, got to wait until you are in the action. A completely ludicrous system. They have also taken a different direction to most unlock heavy games. Instead of only letting you adjust loadouts from the main menu, here you can only do it from the spawn screen. Again, this is not letting you have the time to go over all the unlocks you might have, which we are told are extensive. I certainly like to be able to switch these in the middle of the game, but I also want to have time to look over all of my kits outside of the game.

What all of this boils down to is them not making main menu. The Battlelog system seems fine enough, but why all of this couldn't have been in game I have no idea.

Edit: Didn't mention that I am very impressed with performance. I have a pretty high end, but not absurd computer (i5 2500K, 4GB DDR3 and a 2GB 6950,) but it ran pretty flawlessly on the maximum settings the beta would allow. FOV is fixed at 70 though, which is a real pain in the arse. There is a blanked out option in the video menu for FOV, so I assume this will be changeable in the full release.

[squirrelfanatic]

Man, I really need to improve my sneaking abilities. Every time I try to flank someone, he gets me with his Wizard Gun. It's like that thing has got auto-aim. :(

[Smashbox]

Dag nabbit... I just want to DL the installer or the .exe on my super-fast work internet (on my work Mac), but I can't because I have to install Origin, need windows, etc. Anyone know if the exe is posted online without requiring Origin (wishful thinking, I know)

[rhizo]

Played the game for a little while and the fact that the game doesn't load until you join a server was a bit of a shock. Joining a server was an absolute pain and I didn't find the options for the first 20 mins. The Operation Metro map was horrid and filled with camping and prone snipers. If people think that the weapon and equipment unlocks made BFBC2 uneven and tough for anyone starting the game, just wait until you try this one. The glare from the sniper scopes seemed a tad overdone though it helped the sniper infested gameplay somewhat. Attacking was very hard and the first time I actually saw the second stage of MCOMs was three rounds in to the game.

All in all a rather negative experience and I can't understand why they chose such an awful map for the beta. Maybe it's the map that has the most problems an they need help balancing it, go figure. The beta as is certainly doesn't give a good impression of the game. I was surprised how well the game ran with everything maxed, but was really disappointed with the environmental destruction of the map, especially the trains. Still, I'm sure some fun can be had in the larger and more interesting maps and the game engine itself seemed to be coming along nicely.

[Smashbox]

Anyone know when the beta ends?

[Jamison Dance]

The 11th I think? Not sure. Also, the WIZARD GUN title was in reference to a tweet by Quinns asking about names for an FPS game. If I could have a Wizard Gun, mine would turn the mortar from high explosives to one that shot Skittles. Mark the target, and BAM covered in Skittles.

The integrated platoon (clan) thing in the Battlelog is a nice feature. An RPS clan in the beta perhaps?

The squad features are pretty broken for now though. It is hard to join games with friends, and it hardly ever places you in the same squad. Still, I am enjoying myself greatly.

[Smashbox]

Does it give you squaddies from your platoon automagically? That's the only way I can think to squad up w friends. Me and my pal couldn't join together this evening. It's random, right?

[soldant]

Wow, I actually had a lot of fun... just like I did with BC2 for the first few weeks. Operation Metro does feel an awful lot like BC2 though, but it is pretty cool in some places. The new engine's wall destruction was fun, bits and pieces flying everywhere. My rig (i5 2500k, 6GB RAM, 570GTX, Win7 x64) handled it on ultra @ 1920x1080 easily (didn't measure but I'd guesstimate near 60FPS, I can't tolerate below 40). I'm tempted to get it but I'd want to see the 64 player stuff with vehicles before I'd commit to buying, because so far Operating Metro feels too close to BC2 in some respects and I'd want BF3 for the large-scale games.

As for the server browser: I'm in two minds about it. On the one hand I don't like how it's accessed via a web browser outside of the game... but on the other hand at least it works and it's fast to use and navigate (at least I find it quick), which is a far cry from some in-game browsers (BC2's wasn't fantastic). Not sold on it but it's not as bad as I first thought.

[JohnnyK]

Just for the record - the password for the "Caspian Border"-servers is posted in the official forum every day. I just had a go at it, but my game crashed twice within a few minutes. If you want to try, the current pw is
shoppingcartsareagoodride
This will most likely change during the day today

[Jamison Dance]

Whawhawhat? Where is the password posted? I had to do some trickery to get around the password authentication (which they really need to fix. It is never good to client-side authentication when your client can alter the authentication code).

[JohnnyK]

I initially found it on reddit:
http://www.reddit.com/r/battlefield3/comments/kv3e4/new_caspian_border_password/

You can also look for Zh1nto's posts on the EA forums.