Battlefield 3 beta opens to all on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC

Jos

Jos

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Those who pre-ordered Battlefield 3 have been enjoying the beta for the last couple of days. But if you prefer to take a more conservative try-before-you-buy approach, now is your time to get in on the action, as the game's multiplayer beta has officially gone live for all PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 players today. There's no registration requirement, so you'll be able to start playing as soon as you've downloaded the beta from Xbox Live, PSN or EA's Origin service on PC.

The beta itself includes a single map, Operation Métro, and the game type Rush where one team must attack two M-Com stations while a defending team tries to prevent them. It's about a 3.9GB download for the PC version. The map will feature 4 fully unlocked Areas and allows up to 32 players to join in a match. If you haven't done so already, be sure to download the latest drivers for your AMD or Nvidia video card, as they've been specifically optimized for the game.

There's also a second map called Caspian Border being played on several password-locked servers, complete with jets and tanks while allowing up 64 players at once during Conquest mode. A Community Manager for DICE shared the password "sexyelevator" on the official forums but it was changed after a few hours. A new password might be posted in the forums at some point but getting in won't be easy since only two servers are running this map.

The beta will only last until October 10, roughly a week and a half from today. Since this is a multiplayer-only affair, gamers will have to wait until the full game launch on October 25 in the U.S. and October 28 across Europe to play the single player campaign of what is arguably this year's most anticipated FPS title.

Installation instructions for all three platforms are available here. PC requirements for the game are posted after the break. Let us know if you've tried out the beta and your thoughts so far.

Minimum System Requirements

  • OS: Windows Vista (Service Pack 2) 32-bit
  • Processor: 2GHz dual-core (Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz or Athlon X2 2.7GHz)
  • Memory: 2GB
  • Hard drive: 20GB
  • Graphics card (AMD): DirectX 10.1 compatible with 512MB RAM (ATI Radeon 3000, 4000, 5000 or 6000 series, with ATI Radeon 3870 or higher performance)
  • Graphics card (Nvidia): DirectX 10.0 compatible with 512MB RAM (Nvidia GeForce 8, 9, 200, 300, 400 or 500 series with Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT or higher performance)
  • Sound card: DirectX compatible
  • Keyboard and mouse
  • DVD ROM drive

Recommended System Requirements

  • OS: Windows 7 64-bit
  • Processor: quad-core CPU
  • Memory: 4GB
  • Hard drive: 20GB
  • Graphics card: DirectX 11 compatible with 1024MB RAM (Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 or ATI Radeon HD 6950)
  • Sound card: DirectX compatible
  • Keyboard and mouse
  • DVD ROM drive

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/45672-battlefield-3-beta-opens-to-all-on-ps3-xbox-360-and-pc.html

 
All that's available right now is a Call Of Duty/Counter-Strike map. Waiting for the Battlefield map to be playable.
 
Battlefield 3 beta is really the first game on xbox 360 that made me feel like I was in a war.
 
anyone else having trouble getting on. Saying connection with EA has been lost. =(
 
YOU ARE CORRECT, SIR. (Skate 3, Battlefield BC2, Mass Effect 2, ANY sports game)

still can't connect as of 7:17pm EST, 9/29
 
I was playing this morning. Pretty intense. I also had a chance to play Caspian Border, although I was randomly kicked for no reason; too bad because I never got a chance to fly a jet :(
 
I have had fun, but i do have a couple of major beefs with it (PC version)

1. I can't select my user name on PC! It just shows the name part of the email address that I have been using for all EA stuff for years. Even though on all other EA games, including Battlefield 2142 and Bad Company 2, I use a different persona, which is also what my clanmates know me by.

2. to adjust settings (graphics, audio, keyboard bindings, etc) you have to actually be in-game. There is no way i have found to adjust them before spawning, let alone before joining a server. And then when someone shoots you before you have made your changes, you lose all of them and have to start over.

If anyone knows how to address either of those, please let me know!

The default graphics settings were pretty bad for 2011, looking more like 1998. My first impression was "I just paid $60 for a browser game?" Then i finally found a post in the forums regarding how to adjust the settings (see 2. above), which helped immensely.

There are also some issues while crawling or throwing grenades while prone.

Despite my negative impressions, I have had fun with the beta, but I still am not fully decided on whether to cancel my preorder.
 
this bs this is my first playing battlefield at all and now i cant connect bcuz the server is down wtf man
 
Screw EA's anti-lawsuit terms of service. I don't see a reason why I would ever consider suing them, but out of principle I'm not going support their company (even if the game is only in beta).
 
I dont know why people hate the game browser? You pick your game, you join and done! No intro, no startup screen. Its great! No alt TAB to go back to windows to change things.
 
Wendig0 said:
Screw EA's anti-lawsuit terms of service. I don't see a reason why I would ever consider suing them, but out of principle I'm not going support their company (even if the game is only in beta).
Click to expand...

Kudos. +100 interwebz to you
 
I'm not so sure, as disgustingly litigious as the world has become...it is really hard to blame them for playing CYA.
 
Had some experience of the "Crawling underground" bug. Overall its good and some of the firefights I've been part of in the Metro level indoors have felt very realistic (not that I have real firefight experience to compare it to, but you know what I mean!).

The little touches like your legs kicked out in front of you as you vault over a wall help a great deal with immersion. And when you defib someone they actually get back on to their feet instead of just popping upright beside you.

If they fix the crawling through the ground and other issues I think I'll be buying this, and that's even before trying any vehicles!!
 
Played the beta for a good few hours last night (on PC so didn't have any server problems). My feelings are quite mixed. I was really looking forward to this game (and still am) but I feel the beta didn't quite have that magic I was expecing. The web front end I just don't like at all. Makes it feel like they couldn't be bothered to develop a proper front end/gives it a cheapy console knock off feel (IMO). Why should I have to close the whole game then look for a server then fire up the game again? Seems odd. The bullet reg can seem quite screwey in places too but maybe I just need to get used to new game mechanics. Also as another user comented it's annoying that you can't change any options until you are actually in the game. Also you have to be spawned as you can't access the menu while dead or in "post match" screens or loading screens which can be quite frustrating... adjusting settings while bullets are flying at you isn't ideal. Same goes for if you want to quit the game (although you can also just alt tab out and kill the window but you shouldn't have to do that).
I was playing with a resolution of 1920x1200 with graphics on the ultra setting and it was quite nice but not as good as I expected. Maybe that's just cause it's beta. One thing that was amazing was the audio.. the sound of guns firing etc was stunning. They really nailed that I think.
Kit customisation could be smoother. I liked in BC2 you clicked on a class then you could see ALL the options in front of you which made it easy to see what you have and make a quick selection. Now there is a fiddly little menu where you have to scroll sideways to find kit customisations.

Well anyway thats enough for now.. maybe they will fix some of that for the real thing. I will still be getting it, as I don't want to base my whole opinion of a game on a beta, and i'm sure it will be a blast. Just looking forward to big 64 player battles on maps with vehicles etc..
 
DanUK said:
I liked in BC2 you clicked on a class then you could see ALL the options in front of you which made it easy to see what you have and make a quick selection. Now there is a fiddly little menu where you have to scroll sideways to find kit customisations.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it felt like a console interface. Much preferred the old customisation UI.
 
The little touches like your legs kicked out in front of you as you vault over a wall help a great deal with immersion. And when you defib someone they actually get back on to their feet instead of just popping upright beside you.
Click to expand...

Yeah despite some of my negative feelings the stuff like this was very nice!
 
Here are some impressions on the PS3 version (heresy, I know). The gameplay is fun but definitely suffers from a lack of mouse/keyboard (this coming from a die-hard PC gamer).

That said, I didn't feel like 24 players is too little. It is well-balanced for the PS3 and the maps feel right. There are some glitches where I fall through the floor when lying prone.

I will be getting the PC version for the large maps, 64 players, and proper FPS action with the mouse.
 
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