Battlefield 3

live podcast interview with Daniel Matros, Global Battlefield Community Manager at DICE. Here are the key quotes we picked up:

 

"In order to make a perfect game, in order to drive you forward and not stop you in your tracks; you can destroy most things, but you can't destroy everything."

 

 

From what we gathered during the interview - you can't totally level a building, and watch it sprawl all over the floor. Instead, walls and the like come crumbling down, but this doesn't drastically alter the map, so it doesn't 'stop you' from going forward.

 

"You can always counter everything anyone does. There are no super weapons."

 

 

This was referring to the Physical Warfare pack and notions of balance. Will it give some unfair advantage? Daniel claimed absolutely not.

 

"We are going to support Battlefield 3 for as long as we can. We'll stick to it; it's a game we've loved to make."

 

 

He also answered 'Yes' when asked whether Battlefield 3 would be supported enough to make it the go-to multiplayer game for more than a year.

 

"In Battlefield 3, all classes are very very customisable. You won't be totally unique, but 4 classes is basically enough, as you can customise anything you want to add in. Most customisations are based on your weapon."

 

 

The three main ways to alter your weapon: Ammo, Optics, and Rails.

 

"To counter camping, sniper's optics will start having a reflection"

 

 

This makes you much more visible, and will go some way to stopping those snipers who just sit and wait.

 

"We will give out system specs when we are very very sure we will not change it. We don't want people wasting money on the wrong hardware. You could have bought your mum a present or something with that..."

 

 

And here are a few more quotes for your mind sack:

 

"My big guess is that the launch will be smooth for people in October. We have people who work on that at DICE"

 

"For consoles, they're old machines, and we might have to cut down on the graphics. But not the features."

 

"In Conquest [mode], maps will be deeper [than in other modes, like Rush]. The maps will be very big in Battlefield."

The latest Battlefield 3 blog entry reveals more about the four multiplayer classes. They’ve been tweaked significantly from Battlefield: Bad Company 2. The Medic class has been merged with the Assault class and replaced by the Support class, who will specialise in heavy weapons. These will come with their own bipod attachements that can be rested on the ground and cover to deliver supressive fire with high accuracy.

The big surprise of the latest blog post is the news that there won’t be a Medic class in Battlefield 3. You’ll still be able to revive squadmates in the middle of a fight, however, you’ll just have to do it as an Assault fighter.

“Assault soldier now has medic abilities,” writes senior mulitplayer designer Alan Kertz. “All the abilities such as medkits and defibrillators typically found on the Medic class are now incorporated into Assault. It makes sense that the class on the frontline will be able to revive fallen team mates.”

The Assault class can still deal plenty of damage, however, and the customisable loadout will give you alternatives if you’d rather run and gun than help fallen team mates. “You can play it your way,” says Kertz, “if you want to customize your Assault soldier more towards medic abilities or towards serious gunplay, it’s totally up to you.”

In Bad Company 2, Medics could wield fearsome light machine guns. In Battlefield 3, heavy weapons will be even more devastating thanks to the destructability of Battlefield 3′s environments and the addition of a new bipod attachment. If you enter aiming mode while prone or near a wall or windowsill you’ll deploy the bipod, giving your gun extra stability and improved accuracy while firing.

“The stability created by deploying a Bipod gives players a massive boost in accuracy and recoil reduction. You’ll be able to unload an entire clip of 200 bullets from your LMG with great accuracy without even letting go of the trigger, all thanks to the Bipod,” says Kertz.

Heavy weapons are central to a brand new mechanic in Battlefield 3: supression. Taking heavy fire will affect your ability to fight. “When you lay down fire in close vicinity to an enemy, the incoming barrage will show up as a graphical blur effect on his screen to stress him and let him know it’s not safe to pop out from behind cover,” Kertz reveals. “Just as importantly, this mechanic also affects his character’s in-game firing accuracy, making him less of a threat by using real world tactics.”