OFFICIAL Battlefield 4 (Discussion)

[GullyFoyle]

OXM - DICE's next gen Frostbite 3 engine unveiled - Mass Effect and FIFA devs contribute ideas

Battlefield 4 is the first game to use the technology

EA has shared first details of Frostbite 3, the next installment of its proprietary game engine, at a Battlefield 4 event in Stockholm. The new tech is billed as an "evolution" of the Frostbite 2 engine employed by Battlefield 3, and is the result of collaboration between DICE and various other EA studios, including the developers of Dragon Age, Mass Effect and Need for Speed.

Frostbite 3 has been in the works since 2011 - roundabouts the time DICE polished off Battlefield 3, which senior development director Carl Almgren describes as "the perfect test bed for Frostbite 2". Frostbite has become EA's most-adopted engine software, with over 10 game teams making use of the tech, and DICE has designed the follow-up to reflect their needs and suggestions.

The engine is apparently much easier to work with, thanks to a redesigned interface which allows for easy, top-level adjustments of or additions to playable code - hence the buzzphrase, "What You See Is What You Play". Designers are also able to make changes to console and PC versions of a game simultaneously, which could ensure more consistency between platforms.
Palpable benefits of Frostbite 3 include a dramatically higher level of texture detail, more complicated lighting and shadowing, and more in the way of environment deformation. The engine has also allowed DICE to overhaul Battlefield's animation systems, drawing on those of FIFA, NHL and the Fight Night series.

Battlefield 4's AI is said to follow more elaborate behavioural patterns, and to be more responsive to both the player and the surrounding world - the idea, Almgren explained, is to make NPCs feel like friendlies in online multiplayer. The physics have been improved, too - loose objects such as flapping cloth will react to environmental "forces" such as the passage of vehicles. Particle effects, meanwhile, now bounce realistically from surfaces rather than floating through them.

Take a gander at Battlefield 4's first trailer. Do all those fancy words above translate to a glorious-looking videogame?

 

[boise49ers]

Let's see what it does on Multiplayer Dice. Please

 

[1Kurgan1]

Yea, I wish like hell they would re make that map and bring modding back to BF... So, another studio like "Trauma Studios" could make another Desert Combat! I wish Frank Delise didn't sell Trauma Studios to Dice for them to not make a proper DC.. They bought them to kill it off for BF2. Don't get me wrong I loved BF2, but I loved DC as well and wished they would have let them mod BF2 and add an updated DC to it. Frontlines sucked ass as a multi player game.. Nothing like DC.. they could have done so much better using Dices BF2 engine.

Agreed completely. I never really enjoyed BF2, always wished for a game more like DC. I played a Bit of BF2 then quit the BF series for quite a few years.

 

[Wrigleyvillain]

I don't enjoy BF2 either which sucks because Forgotten Hope 2 is otherwise awesome (and a way to play El Alamein still)

 

[MT Alex]

Heretics.

 

[Mindweaver]

Agreed completely. I never really enjoyed BF2, always wished for a game more like DC. I played a Bit of BF2 then quit the BF series for quite a few years.

Yea, I stopped playing BF2 as soon as BF2142 came out. I think what made DC so great was the sheer about of vehicles they put into it and spawning vehicles faster. I hate BF2's, and BF3's whole vehicle system... I mean really 2 planes, 2 jeeps, 2 tanks, 2 whatever for 32-64 players.. I remember running across the map and looking at all the vehicles to pick from.. Now they are trying to push a Vehicular game with out enough vehicles to go around.. Oh and they had a better Infantry Classes selection.. For everybody that don't know check out what DC had for variety of vehicles and classes.. Just look at what we are missing out on... Give me an updated DC and I wouldn't be able to put it down.. hehehe

Battlefield 1942/Desert Combat 0.7

Infantry classes

1. Assault: Pretty much the same as before. Your typical all around grunt unit. Coalition forces get a grenade launcher.
2. Heavy Machine Gun: This unit replaces the medic. Now with a portable 50-cal machine gun and 200 rounds of ammo in each box. Like the vehicle guns, this units weapon is prone to heating.
3. Anti-armor: Like the anti-tank unit of 1942, this guy's specialty is the bazooka (now RPG). But fighting tanks is not all - this soldier also carries stinger anti-air rockets. Especially useful to counter harassment of enemy helicopters.
4. Support: You were worried that the medic was replaced by the machine gunner? No sweat. The support unit combines the kits of both the medic and the engineer. The shotgun is limited in usefulness, so supports main job is mostly what the name says. The unit can also play a limited light artillery role in some maps where he is equipped with the mortar launcher.
5. Sniper: Just like before. If you like to camp out and take your time harassing the enemy - the sniper is your guy. But now the clips carry a much more useful amount of ammo. However the bots have the uncanny ability to spot you from afar, and its also likely human aversaries will soon hunt you down if you're any good.
6. Spec-ops: Equipped with silenced pistol and assault rifle. Rifle causes less damage than assaults, but has fast rate of fire and scope similar to scouts. Gets the explosive satchel that the engineer used to have, and another item of seemingly limited use - smoke grenades.

Air

• Rotary wing:
  1. Gunships: AH-64 Apache, AH-6 Little Bird, Mi-24 Hind. Feature front gunner and pilot can fire two different types of rockets. More or less the bane of ground troops and tankers that encounter them.
  2. Assault: Features sidemount machine guns or pilot aimed rockets. UH-60 blackhawk. CH-53 Stallion
  3. Support: Mi-8, MH-60, CH-6, CH-53. Think of it as a taxicab that flies. Unarmed, but can be useful as a mobile spawn point, artillery spotter, or for resupplying/healing ground units.
• Fixed wing:
  1. F-16 Falcon: Air to air fighting.
  2. F-14 Tomcat: Air to air and air to ground. Almost goes too fast to line up bombs.
  3. A-10 Thunderbolt II(A.K.A. Warthog): Air to ground.
  4. F-15 Eagle: Air to air fighting.
  5. Mig-29 Fulcrum: Air to air.
  6. Su-25 Frogfoot: Russian answer to thunderbolt but with better performance envelope.
  7. Mig-23 Flogger: Air to air.
  8. B-16: Some maps may have this for laughs.
  9. Skyraider: Air to ground. Found on some island/carrier maps.
  10. AC-130

Ground

1. Tanks: Coalition gets the Abrams M-1 and Oppostion gets the T-72. For the most part they're evenly matched. Firing tragectory is much straighter then it is with 1942's tanks. And they go faster. Other than that, they're not much different.
2. Hummvee: Comes in various varieties. One is just basic transportation. Other variants are support (guns and ammow) and TOW wagon (fires TOW rockets).
3. Amphib Armored car: Opposition troops get these in place of the Humvee. Unlike the hummer, these can take to water without sinking.
4. Light armored vehicles: Similar to the tanks, but with rapid firing high explosive guns, troop transport capability, and anti-tank rockets.
5. Desert Patrol Vehicles: These are the fastest ground vehicles. Equipped with a 50cal and rapid fire grenade gun. They don't take much damage and have a tendency to easily spin out. Best used as quick transport. Next best use is for shoot and scoot tactics against infantry.
6. Scud: 1 shot, difficult to aim, long to reload. But what a kill radius!
7. MLRS: Salvos of 12 high arcing artillery rockets in rapid succession.
8. Katuyusha: Same as from 1942.
9. Mobile artillery: Mobile artillery gun with 50 cal.
10. Pickup trucks: These ol' beater trucks are used as quick transport by opposition forces. Sometimes conveniently equipped with rocket launcher or machinegun.
11. Beater cars: Placed randomly around some maps. Seats four, unarmed and quite vulnerable, but definitely beats walking when you need to get somewhere.
12. Mobile AA-gun: Used to support tanks or other vehicles against pesky air attacks. Rapid fire gun doesn't traverse low enough to be used against ground units directly, but this 'flaw' can be easily overcome by parking on an incline.

Sea

1. Battleships: Same as 1942.
2. Destroyers: Guns fire more rapidly, and you get the bonus of Tomahawk missiles.
3. Subs: much more loiter time, no reduced speed for underwater travel, and the ever so fun cruise missiles that destroyers have.
4. other: various gunboats and torpedo cruisers oh my!
5. Carriers: Now modernized and can take more damage than before.

Source - http://strategywiki.org

 

[Wrigleyvillain]

Now they are trying to push a Vehicular game with out enough vehicles to go around..

Sure can't argue with that. Most glaring example is not enough tanks for everyone in Tank Superiority mode even. To say nothing of lack of variety...

 

[boise49ers]

Sure can't argue with that. Most glaring example is not enough tanks for everyone in Tank Superiority mode even. To say nothing of lack of variety...

I haven't even played that mode. Can you get a support guy to follow you around and carry a
Javelin just blowing up tanks the whole round ? May have to talk to my son and try it this weekend if it is possible.

 

[Mindweaver]

Sure can't argue with that. Most glaring example is not enough tanks for everyone in Tank Superiority mode even. To say nothing of lack of variety...

Yea, maybe they will offer extra vehicle mode in there season pass for BF4.. lol We'll start adding stuff like that to entice people to buy their season pass.. lol You want more guns? then buy our season pass! You want more bullets to your gun? buy our season pass!

 

[Sir B. Fannybottom]

 

[Jetster]

Someone just told me that if you bought BF3 Premium you can get a copy of BF4 Beta when it comes out. Is this true?

 

[boise49ers]

Someone just told me that if you bought BF3 Premium you can get a copy of BF4 Beta when it comes out. Is this true?

Yes, or if you were dumb enough to buy MOH Warfighter. Like I did

 

[Wrigleyvillain]

Yea, maybe they will offer extra vehicle mode in there season pass for BF4.. lol We'll start adding stuff like that to entice people to buy their season pass.. lol You want more guns? then buy our season pass! You want more bullets to your gun? buy our season pass!

yeah...except they really can't do anything at all that smells of 'pay to win'.

 

[boise49ers]

Finished BF3 SP tonight. It was pretty anti climatic too Phenom, then jumped on for a round with all the old timers.
Seen Mailman plant a C4 on a tank and the guy jumped out I think you stabbed him didn't yuh ? Then the fucker who shot you shot me.
I was having a pretty good time flying around on the dirt bikes, but you die easy on those.

 

[Wrigleyvillain]

I didn't see you guys playing; must have been later.

 

[boise49ers]

I didn't see you guys playing; must have been later.

It was. I was surprised so many were on that late.

 

[1Kurgan1]

Personal favorites would be 1942 and 2142 for music. I never played 2142 (I tinkered with it years later, but thats about it). But seems to call back to the 1942 original soundtrack very well. BC1 and BC2's soundtracks were fine, never been a fan of BF3, and BF4's sounds even worse, kind of sad to see the iconic BF theme vanishing, heard many great remixes over the years they could have gone with and made some fans of the series that made those extremely happy to have their song be the song of the future BF title.

 

[Boneface]

Got my tags today!

 

[boise49ers]

Personal favorites would be 1942 and 2142 for music. I never played 2142 (I tinkered with it years later, but thats about it). But seems to call back to the 1942 original soundtrack very well. BC1 and BC2's soundtracks were fine, never been a fan of BF3, and BF4's sounds even worse, kind of sad to see the iconic BF theme vanishing, heard many great remixes over the years they could have gone with and made some fans of the series that made those extremely happy to have their song be the song of the future BF title.

They have the original score at the end levels on the single player on BF3 though.

 

[GullyFoyle]

Xbitlabs.com - AMD Vows to Bundle Battlefield 4 in Forthcoming Never Settle Campaigns

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Xbitlabs.com - AMD Vows to Bundle Battlefield 4 in Forthcoming Never Settle Campaigns

sounds like a P.R stunt to get people to buy their cards after the scandal with their drivers.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

sounds like a P.R stunt to get people to buy their cards after the scandal with their drivers.

They've been doing this for so long. I don't think it has anything to do with the drivers, and that's only for CFX.

Id buy AMD cards if I got BF4 for free with it.

 

[boise49ers]

They've been doing this for so long. I don't think it has anything to do with the drivers, and that's only for CFX.

Id buy AMD cards if I got BF4 for free with it.

I just did a month ago. Bought a 7770. Not a bad card for $100. Maybe I'll sell it when they bundle and get a 7850 or something
Or is that only if you buy the 7990 ? For the price that card will cost they should throw in a Corvette or something.

 

[boise49ers]

Holy Shit !

Now who thinks this is a little over the top ?

 

[Bow]

Get a Fu*king Life!!!