EA, DICE put future projects on hold and focus on fixing Battlefield 4

[Russ Boswell]

Battlefield 4 has been called a lot of things since its launch. Broken, glitchy and unplayable, are three of the commonly used words to describe DICE's latest shooter. But the developer and its parent company Electronic Arts are looking to clean up the mess. They realize this release is a big deal, to both the company and the franchise's many dedicated fans, and they're taking extreme measures to rectify all of the title's issues.

According to an EA spokesperson, the company is ceasing work on expansions or future projects pertaining to Battlefield 4, and perhaps some other working titles, until all of these current bugs are taken care of.

"We know we still have a ways to go with fixing the game. It is absolutely our #1 priority. The team at DICE is working non-stop to update the game. We know many of our players are frustrated, and we feel your pain. We will not stop until this is right.”

I know what many of you are probably thinking, if that's the case then why did EA release the China Rising DLC? According to EA it's because the expansion was "already in the final stages of development." In short, they were done with it, ready to release it, and sent it to the community prior to performing this recent re-focus. 

It will be interesting to see how quickly EA and DICE can fix some of the major problems plaguing the next-gen shooter, and if extra manpower will fast-track the healing process. I'm also curious to see exactly which projects EA will be halting in order to reallocate these resources. Will we see a big delay in the upcoming sequels to Mirror's Edge and Star Wars Battlefront? Hopefully not, but I'm sure everyone who is "trying" to enjoy a broken Battlefield 4 would be willing to sacrifice just about anything for some stability.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/54915-ea-dice-put-future-projects-on-hold-and-focus-on-fixing-battlefield-4.html

 

[Guest]

Good to hear

 

[Mavrickx888]

Well, at least they're taking measures to get it right - or at least claiming they are. I'm still a faithful Battlefield fan through and through, but until I see the important bugs getting fixed, this iteration will continue to leave a bitter-sweet taste in my mouth.

 

[RH00D]

I get the feeling DICE really didn't want to release the game when they did but some C-level exec at EA forced them to so they'd be able to meet investors projections for whatever financial quarter. Yay greed.

 

[howzz1854]

It's not a feeling. it's already been said that based on a leaked memo from Dice, which was sent prior to release, EA wanted to beat Activision COD to release that they did little to no QA testing.

 

[MonsterZero]

I've only played a little of the Campaign and some multiplayer maps, what glitches etc are they referring too?

 

[hahahanoobs]

This should of happened three weeks ago.

I've only played a little of the Campaign and some multiplayer maps, what glitches etc are they referring too?

You name it, they messed it up. BF4 is the worst AAA title release in my lifetime. I had my first day without crashing just yesterday, and I foolishly pre-ordered it a day before release. I will never pre-order another game developed by DICE again.

Just from the beta I said in a "Will you buy BF4" thread on this site, that this game would need a few patches to fix it, and it turns out a few was being generous.

Here's the 910 page BF4 issues thread at battlelog.battlefield.com for the game. (5 platforms)
http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf4/forum/threadview/2955065217944685108/1/

 

[TrueBooleanFals]

Hmm... maybe give all us that bought the game for $60+ and had the issues the DLC "China Rising" since it was 'already in final stages' prior to actually finishing the game... since we are not playing a final product and all...? And yes, I do understand people ordered Premium, would be mad. I'm just saying... not even a month after the games release... the base game was $30. I haven't been able to enjoy the game since release.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Hmm... maybe give all us that bought the game for $60+ and had the issues the DLC "China Rising" since it was 'already in final stages' prior to actually finishing the game... since we are not playing a final product and all...? And yes, I do understand people ordered Premium, would be mad. I'm just saying... not even a month after the games release... the base game was $30. I haven't been able to enjoy the game since release.

They already "made it up to us" by giving everyone a week of Double XP (the same time as premium members) and a "DICE dev only" 3x scope for the M1911. It was a slap in the face, because it didn't cost them anything.

 

[TrueBooleanFals]

Yurp, that is for sure... some digital content that does nothing for the vast majority of users... I mean... 1911 scope... double XP that you cant get because the game constantly crashes... that 2x XP boost gives me what I should get in half a match if it weren't for the crashes, freezes, and glitches. Still having trouble climbing certain ladders and when I do, I have to close the game out because redeploying acts as if I were still on the ladder

 

[Darth Shiv]

I've only played a little of the Campaign and some multiplayer maps, what glitches etc are they referring too?

Where to start... hahahanoobs has the thread of rage. It is just exasperating how bad and how many glitches existed at release let alone a month after.

The big ones for me are these:
1) Sound cutouts. Particularly on Hainan and Lancang maps. The sound (all effects, everything) just goes while you are playing and glitches back in.

2) BF4 has stopped responding. Seemingly randomly but from what I've heard, it is actually usually related to in game events like shooting then reloading too quickly or swapping weapons or other "unusual circumstances". Hitting the deploy button multiple times too quickly. Less prevalent recently but in the first 2-4 weeks this would happen for me up to 10 times in a 4 hour period. When you wait up to 10 minutes in queues, this is CRAZY bad.

3) Server memory leaks leading to rubber banding. Imagine stuttering forwards and back as you are running. Constantly. For all but the first 10 minutes in a round. Absolutely atrocious experience.

4) Server connection issues. Battlelog failing to connect time after time after time. You'd get to the front of the queue then the game would fail to connect for no reason. Just would say an error has occurred.

5) Hit registration bugs. Head shots that registered double hits and would insta-kill. Hit boxes that were a foot taller than your player's position.

It's pretty wearing and frustrating.

 

[St1ckM4n]

Seems like BFBC2 is still the best for MP.

 

[Fbarnett]

"We know we still have a ways to go with fixing the game. It is absolutely our #1 priority. The team at DICE is working non-stop to update the game. We know many of our players are frustrated, and we feel your pain. We will not stop until this is right.?

That means they will fix the game and charge us extra for the ULTRA PREMIUM version that works

 

[Lionvibez]

This is the reason I'm still playing BF3. When BF4 comes out of beta so maybe in another 6-12 months I will pick it up.

It hilarious that everyone who purchased the digital deluxe version didn't get access to the NEW DLC you have to be a premium member.

All of this nonsense is the reason I waited to pickup the rest of the maps for BF3 only 2 months ago on a Origin sale for $16.

So BF3 limited edition for $59 on release and all the extra maps for $16 is reasonable to me.

I will not pay $100+ EA can suck it!

 

[Guest]

I bought BF4 when it came out for the 360 because the concept sounded fun and I wanted to see if it was better than COD. I tried playing it for a few days but between crashes and playing with 6 people on huge empty maps and my gun malfunctioning the game was unplayable. I became so frustrated that I sold the game back and bought COD the next week.

 

[Forg0t2]

I dunno. It is really frustrating that it has these issues but I will not sell BF4 (I already own CoDG and I find that even more frustrating than BF4). DICE did learn a lessons from this (which has already been told in previous interviews) They will not try to do **** every year. I would say: Release it when its done. I can wait 3 years if it takes that amount of time.

 

[Burty117]

I can wait 3 years if it takes that amount of time.

Agreed, so can I!

I would rather it took an extra year and release it then when the game is ready properly than what they've done now, It's a massive disappointment, BF:BC2 is the last Battlefield were the multiplayer was pretty solid, BF3 is OK, still to this day has bugs and niggles but still playable and tolerable (After A LOT of patches of course) but BF4? It released with the core mechanics of a FIRST PERSON SHOOTER in utter ruins, bullets that apply damage multiple times, rubber banding, hit registration is completely off the hook and seems to require a fair bit of luck. Server queues didn't work for the first week or two the game was out at all, these things are what breaks a game with this kind of potential, when it works, this game can be real fun and you really have have "only in battlefield" moments, but that's so far been 0.5% of the time I've played this game (over 100 hours and I just stopped playing).

 

[Forg0t2]

Agreed, so can I!

I would rather it took an extra year and release it then when the game is ready properly than what they've done now, It's a massive disappointment, BF:BC2 is the last Battlefield were the multiplayer was pretty solid, BF3 is OK, still to this day has bugs and niggles but still playable and tolerable (After A LOT of patches of course) but BF4? It released with the core mechanics of a FIRST PERSON SHOOTER in utter ruins, bullets that apply damage multiple times, rubber banding, hit registration is completely off the hook and seems to require a fair bit of luck. Server queues didn't work for the first week or two the game was out at all, these things are what breaks a game with this kind of potential, when it works, this game can be real fun and you really have have "only in battlefield" moments, but that's so far been 0.5% of the time I've played this game (over 100 hours and I just stopped playing).

I could've enjoyed myself with BF3 for a while until BF4 was completely done. Now it feels like jumping from a muddy pool into a sinkhole where every struggle gets you in deeper up to the point you feel so frustrated that you just stop playing. I will however continue playing even tho the issues aren't fun at all, because I simply am in love with the ideas behind the game and the concepts. I find it such a shame that companies feel rushed and that they collapse under the huge amount of pressure that not only consumers put on but sales departments of publishers even more!

 

[Burty117]

I could've enjoyed myself with BF3 for a while until BF4 was completely done. Now it feels like jumping from a muddy pool into a sinkhole where every struggle gets you in deeper up to the point you feel so frustrated that you just stop playing. I will however continue playing even tho the issues aren't fun at all, because I simply am in love with the ideas behind the game and the concepts. I find it such a shame that companies feel rushed and that they collapse under the huge amount of pressure that not only consumers put on but sales departments of publishers even more!

Agreed totally, I also think part of the issue is they developed the game for PS3 and Xbox 360 as well, they should have focused on PC/Xbox One/PS4 only as they are all similar architectures and would make patching and servers much simpler. All x86, All have ATI hardware and Nvidia was already integrated into the game engine anyway for the PC version, I also think they should not have bothered with a 32-bit version of the game, considering this game requires quite a bit of CPU and Graphics power to play, who on earth has a decently powered gaming PC and has a 32-bit OS on it?

All of this extra work for different architectures and platforms will slow them down fixing the game and ultimately, had they not bothered with them in the first place, they would probably have produced a game no where near as buggy.

But I'm the same as you, I'm playing through it anyway even with the bugs, the new China Rising maps are massive!

 

[BSim500]

This is the reason I'm still playing BF3. When BF4 comes out of beta so maybe in another 6-12 months I will pick it up.

Agree 100%. At the risk of sounding harsh, unless you've been living in a cave for the past 5 years you'd have to be stupid to buy anything at full price made by EA, and expect it to actually work properly.

 

[Burty117]

Agree 100%. At the risk of sounding harsh, unless you've been living in a cave for the past 5 years you'd have to be stupid to buy anything at full price made by EA, and expect it to actually work properly.

I bought Mass Effect 2 & 3 full price... Both worked absolutely fine?
Sims 3 is also pretty solid since the day it was released. Same with Dead space 1/2. Mirror's edge was also ok, Crysis 3 was solid, Battlefield Bad Company 2 was pretty solid from release as well.

In fact the only broken products was Sim City, BF3/4 and Crysis 2 that I'm aware of (well from experience anyway).

 

[robertocarlus]

EA touches, EA destroys. C&C ruined, BF ruined.

 

[Forg0t2]

Agree 100%. At the risk of sounding harsh, unless you've been living in a cave for the past 5 years you'd have to be stupid to buy anything at full price made by EA, and expect it to actually work properly.

I know. It doesn't offend me in any way. I took the risk of buying it at full price because of the expectations (Which you should never have). I still love the game tho but it would've been so much better for everyone if they just waited a year with bringing it to the market...

 

[Forg0t2]

I bought Mass Effect 2 & 3 full price... Both worked absolutely fine?
Sims 3 is also pretty solid since the day it was released. Same with Dead space 1/2. Mirror's edge was also ok, Crysis 3 was solid, Battlefield Bad Company 2 was pretty solid from release as well.

In fact the only broken products was Sim City, BF3/4 and Crysis 2 that I'm aware of (well from experience anyway).

Back in the day they released solid products. But as years go by their topline products like SimCity, BF and some others needed to go from quality to quantity. They want to produce numbers instead of good products... Same will happen to titanfall if it proves to be a success.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Check out this video someone made about the netcode. A must see. EA may have rushed BF4 to retail, but did they tell DICE devs to lie to its customers too?

Fix the BF4 Netcode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai656sdq8rc