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Modern Warfare 3 Fans Threaten a Global Blackout on April 20th Due To “Lack of Support”

  by   David Veselka  
March 30, 2012 12:27 am in News

It seems that even Activision and Infinity Ward are not safe from global community blackouts.

Last month, the community behind Battlefield 3 rose their voices and pitchforks in an effort to gain the attention of developers DICE and publisher Electronic Arts. The goal: To pressure EA into allowing freer communication between developers the community by threatening a global BF3 blackout. This ended rather quickly as communication came to a satisfactory medium within the week.

This time, it’s Modern Warfare 3’s turn. YouTuber HC4MALiTe posted a video (featured below) detailing the issues that a number of Call of Duty community members are currently concerned over. This video also urges any wishing to get involved to participate in a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 blackout on April 20th, 2012 at which point all members involved will refrain from playing the game on this day. Their demands are the following:

  • Lag Compensation
  • Matchmaking options which include the ability to enable disable local search and base search off the party leader when playing with friends
  • The broken Spawn System
  • Full featured Theater mode
  • Individual volume controls in the options menu
  • Tac insert removed from Kill confirmed
  • More Hardcore game modes
  • Better Elite playlist options
  • Objective stats on in-game scoreboard
  • Akimbo machine pistol nerf
  • Removal of any assault kill streaks from the support package
  • Removal of death streaks and Fix Local Area Network settings for Competitive events

This comes at an awkward time coinciding with the departure of Creative Strategist Robert Bowling from Infinity Ward and Activision who was one of the main coordinators between the community and those on the other side of fence. It will be interesting to see what becomes of this movement.

Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments!

[youtube id=”sAozpepj8hw” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Tags: Activision Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Featured Infinity Ward Modern Warfare 3 MW3 Blackout

David Veselka

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Battlefield 3 PC Patch Impressions by d0n7bl1nk

  by   David Veselka  
March 29, 2012 11:12 pm in Videos

YouTuber d0n7bl1nk, who recently hit his two-year YouTube anniversary, gives us his first impressions of the latest Battlefield 3 PC patch that went live earlier today.

If you’ve missed it, make sure to check out what the latest PC patch brought to the table by reading up on some of the patch notes here. PC players should notice a brand new commo rose system, an improved mini map, and a number of additional updates as featured in the video below.

Thanks to community feedback, we were also able to gather what the current state of Battlefield 3 is after both the PS3 and PC patches. Make sure to read up on this report for some valuable information, including the MAV glitch, input lag, private servers, PC glitches, and the whereabouts of the Xbox 360 patch.

If you’re a Battlefield 3 PC player, make sure to leave your thoughts of the patch in the comments below!

Without further adieu, here are d0n7bl1nk’s informative first impressions of the recent Battlefield 3 PC patch:

[youtube id=”L5DzoMvVyYg” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Tags: Battlefield 3 DICE Featured Patch PC

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MW3 Gunplay Playlist Hits Xbox 360 and PS3 March 30, Features Gun Game, One in the Chamber, and More

  by   Fahed Jaradat  
5:17 pm in News

Infinity Ward has announced that a new FFA Modern Warfare 3 community playlist, Gunplay, will be dropping this weekend on Xbox 360 and PS3.

“The FFA Gunplay playlist cycles 4 different modes,” explained BanCandy on the official forums. The playlist will go live on March 30th, and marks the third community playlist to be added to Modern Warfare 3. It’s unclear whether the other two community playlists, Drop Zone and Infected, will both stay or not. Last month, Infinity Ward decided to replace Drop Zone with Infected at first. That decision was met with anger from the fans that lead to Drop Zone being reintroduced. Update (thanks to James): Infinity Ward confirmed that the other two playlists will stay put. Ban Candy explains, “not losing anything, this [Gunplay] will be in addition to Infected and Drop Zone.”

Fan favorite Black Ops wager match game types, Gun Game in 2 variations and One in the Chamber, will be included along with player named All or Nothing. All four game modes will be available tomorrow on Xbox 360 and PS3. It’s unknown if PC players will get the playlist at some point.

Here are the four different modes detailed as written by BanCandy:

There are 2 Gun Game variations.

  • One variation uses an 18 gun progression including 2 sniper rifles to separate the men from the boys.
  • The second variation cycles 6 guns 3 times (no sniper rifles) so learn the 6 gun progression and pace yourself through the 3 waves.

One In The Chamber uses the P99 handgun.

  • Players begin with one bullet and earn a bullet for every kill (with gun or tactical knife).
  • Elimination occurs after 3 deaths but the last 3 players will be visible on the mini-map to keep the action rolling.
  • Eliminated players can chase remaining players in spectator mode and back a winner of their choosing by selecting them.
  • Selecting a player that you’re spectating gives you 150 XP for each of their subsequent kills so you can still stay in the game after you’re eliminated

Lastly there is a new variation on Free For All that was created by our community and we LOVE.  Players call it All Or Nothing.

  • All players spawn with the USP .45 handgun with no ammo and a Throwing Knife.
  • The loadout includes the Hardline perk and Specialist point streak with Scavenger in the first slot.
  • As you get kills, you pick up scavenger packs and get ammo.
  • Once you’re killed you spawn back with no ammo and start again.
  • It’s like One in the Chamber meets Infected with plenty of hilarity mixed in.
Tags: Community Playlists Featured Gun Game Gunplay Playlist Modern Warfare 3 MW3 PS3 Xbox 360

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Modern Warfare 3 PS3 Patch 1.11 is Now Live

  by   Fahed Jaradat  
1:23 pm in News

The PS3 version of Modern Warfare 3 has received patch 1.11, title update #11, shortly after the latest Elite drop was released.

Earlier this morning, paid Elite PS3 users received a new drop, Overwatch, but the map was completely unplayable in the first few hours following its’ introduction. Players were reporting freezing issues on the new map. Since then, patch 1.11 went live for Modern Warfare 3. It seems that the patch fixed the issues with Overwatch. The patch is mandatory, and is 23MB in size.

As it was the case with the last Xbox 360 patch, the patch notes haven’t been made public at the time of writing. On a side note, Robert Bowling used to share the patch notes either on the forums or Twitter, but he no longer works at Infinity Ward.

Be sure to follow MP1st on Twitter and Facebook for the latest Modern Warfare 3 news.

Thanks to DAROCK2300 and ESmorgue for the tip!

Tags: Featured Modern Warfare 3 MW3 Overwatch Patch 1.11 PS3

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[Updated] The State of Battlefield 3 – MAV Glitch, Input Lag, Private Servers, PC Glitches and Xbox 360 Patch

  by   David Veselka  
12:11 pm in News

So, what’s the state of Battlefield 3 after the recent PS3 and PC patches? Besides many, many good things, PS3 servers are selling like mad, input lag is ‘sort of’ fixed, the MAV is still ridable, a few PC glitches, and the Xbox 360 patch is still nowhere to be found.

Since the recent PS3 patch, the Battlefield community has been hard at work discovering what unadvertised tweaks came along with it. Luckily, with the help of many community members, we’ve been able to compile a list of unannounced PS3 patch notes. Of course, these notes apply to the PC and upcoming Xbox 360 patch as well. Luckily, PC members were also treated to some nice commo rose and mini map changes among many other things. Read here for a full list!

Along with the PS3 patch came the ability for users to rent private servers. You can check out the full list of prices here. Some frequently asked questions surrounding these servers include: Can server owners give admin rights to another user? Are servers region locked? Where are all these servers? To these questions, Global Community Manager Daniel Matros has the answers. Well, sort of. According to Matros, “indeed you can” give admin rights to another user if you are the server owner. Unfortunately, he has “no clue about Sony region locks. You will have to ask Sony as it is their platform.” [We will update when we can.] As for where all the servers are, “PS3 Servers are being rented like this was the last day on earth,” according to Matros. He also added that as of this morning, DICE has “now increased the number of available servers to rent on PS3. Expect more increases to follow shortly.” A few hours later, “another big batch of available PS3 servers to rent now available in addition to this morning’s increase.” That adds up to two increases so far so hopefully PS3 users will be able fo find servers more easily.

For more information regarding how to rent servers, including a FAQ and Xbox 360 pricing, check out the official Battlefield 3 webpage.

What did not make it into the PS3 patch, however, was colorblind mode. “Colorblind mode did not make it in time for this patch,” according to Senior Designer Gustav Halling. Though, many users have been reporting a much more visible user interface after the patch. So while colorblind mode may (or may not) still be on its way, at least DICE has taken steps towards better visibility.

Many know by now that the infamous MAV glitch seems to have not been fixed in the latest patches. At least, not entirely. While players cannot stand on the MAV to raise themselves to higher platforms, it is still possible to lie prone in order to accomplish the same effect. Matros admitted, “yes, Mav fix failed. We will have to make a new fix.” Similarly, Halling mentioned, “we know MAV riding still can be exploited. Admins: I will ban players doing this on servers I admin, suggest the same until fixed.” In fact, he added that “MAV exploiting is against the rules of conduct. You shouldn’t be suprised if your stats are wiped after being found MAV exploiting.” He continued, “using the software in wrong way is baked into the agreement you accept when installing.”

Also still prevalent in the PS3 version of Battlefield 3 is traces of input lag. Though results have been mixed – some reporting improvements, others not so much – DICE claims to still be hard at work looking for solutions. Matros told his followers “we’ve released a fix [the option to turn of AA] that smoothens it for most players. Still working on it though.” Our friend, “TheEnd” was able to povide a quick demonstration of the current state of input lag on the PS3 that you can check out here! Hopefully we’ll hear more of this soon.

Update 1: As ‘Dean’ mentioned in the comments below, Jet heat seekers seem to have been rendered ineffective since the patch. You can check out a video of the PS3 version here.

PC users will also notice a few unadvertised changes to their version of Battlefield 3. One in particular that was revealed by Web Software Engineer Elton Muuga, was the inclusion of a squad privacy function. You can view an image of it here.

Unfortunately, the PC patch did not come without its shortcomings either. Some have been reporting glitches such as the one demonstrated here. Matros assures fans,”we’re reproducing it here in the studio to see how/when and under what circumstances this happens.” Some players have also been reporting no changes made to fall damage, which was originally promised to be tweaked in the upcoming patches. We also hope to hear more on this soon.

Update 2: Gustav Halling has set up a thread on his personal blog where Battlefield 3 players can report post-patch bugs that we highly recommend you utilize if you happen to come across any. You can check out his blog here.

Lastly, we’ve still yet to hear any word of the Xbox 360 patch. Community Manager Ian Tornay has been rather busy on Twitter lately explaining why: “It was broken. We’re fixing it. Date ASAP.” Despite what many seem to suggest – that it is due to platform favoritism – DICE assures that it is simply a technical issue. We’ll be sure to inform our readers of any updates regarding the Xbox 360 patch to make sure to follow MP1st on Twitter and Facebook!

What are your thoughts on the current state of Battlefield 3 after the PS3 and PC patches? Love it? Hate it? Waiting for the Xbox 360 patch? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

DICE Expands Battlefield 3 Deathmatch – Spawn System Improvements and New Play Areas

Tags: Battlefield 3 BF3 PS3 Patch DICE Featured Patch PS3 Patch

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DICE Expands Battlefield 3 Deathmatch – Spawn System Improvements and New Play Areas

  by   David Veselka  
9:37 am in News

Battlefield 3 level designer reveals the issues that the DICE team encountered when it came to perfecting the newly added Team Deathmatch mode and how they’ve improved it in the recent patches and updates. Team Deathmatch was an exciting addition to Battlefield 3, but it didn’t come without its headaches.

Level designer Diego Jiminez explains in the latest Inside DICE, “while we were quite happy with the end result, spending lots of time playing the game online as well as listening to the community’s feedback made it clear to us there were specific areas with room for improvement.” One of the most common points of feedback is that players were spawning too close to each other.

For those interested in how the spawn system actually works, Jiminez reveals, “the whole map is divided into different spawn zones corresponding to areas of the level that a team will naturally fall into or attempt to defend. As combat progresses, the system tracks which team controls which zone and attempts to spawn players close to their team mates.” While a seemingly ideal system, many players reported it to be not working properly.

The Back to Karkand update did include some steps to correcting these issues. Here, the spawn “Protection Radius” was cut in half on maps like Noshahr Canals and Kharg island. Also, spawn points were reconfigured on maps like Caspian Border, Davamand Peak, Noshahr Canals, and Kharg Island. However, it was apparent that further tweaking was needed. Jiminez admits that “while the Karkand update generally improved the spawning-related issues for the aforementioned maps, we felt over the following weeks that Kharg Island was still not up to par.” Taking additional steps, the team removed certain spawn positions in order to avoid spawning players in high traffic areas.

Check out the pictures below for a visual example of what fixes took place.

Battlefield 3 version of Kharg Island (TDM)
Back to Karkand update of Kharg Island (TDM)

Another proposal was to move spawn zones further away from each other in order to avoid players meeting enemies too quickly after spawning. Jiminez explains, the new version of the layout [below] we came up with involved opening up a previously blocked off area on the west end of the map. The extra space allowed us to add a new spawn zone on the southwest (colored as light brown below), bring back the yellow-colored spawn zone, and simultaneously shift the original blue zone farther to the west.”

Recent update of Kharg Island (TDM)

Tehran Highway also carried its fair share of issues. Linear spawn positions made for very repetitive gameplay as players had a very limited number of areas at which fights would be carried out. Of course, the lack of flanking routes was a big hindrance as well. However, this issue seems to have been resolved in the latest update.

Jiminez explains, “through our recent playtests, we’ve found this to be much improved by allowing access to the western half of the map and effectively establishing spawn locations on the other side of the highway. As players can now engage each other across the highway, or fire from elevated positions like the pedestrian overpass or the construction site, the action feels more unpredictable and caters to a wider range of playing styles.”

Check out the differences below.

Original version of Tehran Highway (TDM)
Updated version of Tehran Highway (TDM)

While expanding the play area of Tehran Highway proved to beeffective, the opposite was true for Squad Deathmatch on Davamand Peak. Many players complained of being too spaced out due to squads spawning too far from each other. Jiminez lays it out, “we have now play tested a version of this level that removes two spawn zones we judged to be too out of the way (see the now removed orange and dark green areas on the pictures below).”

Original version of Damavand Peak (SQDM)
Upcoming version of Damavand Peak (SQDM)

Additionally, Jiminez reveals that the team “has also managed to fix a code bug where a small amount of players would spawn within a cluster of enemies at the start of the round, and I have been busy with a whole slew of tweaks to individual spawn points and spawn zones for other Team Deathmatch setups in maps like Seine Crossing, Strike at Karkand, and Sharqi Peninsula.” On top of this, he added that players “can similarly expect significant improvements on the Squad Deathmatch layouts for Noshahr Canals and the aforementioned Damavand Peak.”

What do you think of the recent changes made to the Team Deathmatch and Squad Deathmatch experiences in Battlefield 3? Let us know in the comments below! Remember, if TDM is for you, then you’ll love the upcoming Close Quarters DLC!

Also, make sure to check out a list of unannounced patch notes that made it into the latest PS3 patch as well as the official PC patch notes that released today!

Tags: Battlefield 3 DICE Featured TDM Team Deathmatch

David Veselka

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Modern Warfare 3 Elite Drop ‘Overwatch’ Now Available on PS3

  by   Fahed Jaradat  
6:29 am in News

The third Call of Duty Elite drop, Overwatch, for Modern Warfare 3 is now available to PS3 owners to download. The map was released for Xbox 360 Owners on February 21st.

If you’re a paid Elite player on the PlayStation 3, you can now install the third Elite drop through the in-game “store” option in the multiplayer menu. The map will set you back 85MB in memory.

No changes have been made to the Elite playlists:

  • Popular game modes TDM, Domination and Kill Confirmed only
  • ELITE Objectives
  • Hardcore Ricochet and Mosh Pit

Next three Elite drops, Black Box, Negotiator, and Black Ice, will release in April. However, no official time frame has been released.

Thanks Mat and Jonny ‏for all the help!

Tags: Elite Featured Modern Warfare 3 Overwatch PS3 PSN

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Battlefield 3 PC Patch 1.04 Now Live

  by   Fahed Jaradat  
5:23 am in News

The big Battlefield 3 patch, which PS3 users received two days ago, has gone live on PC packing in a plethora of tweaks and fixes along with the introduction of an improved version of commo rose.

Thanks to b0rk3d_GB for sharing the screenshot.

DICE has released the fourth Battlefield 3 patch on PC. The update introduces commo rose 2.0, improved mini-map, shortcut bundles, and more. You can download the patch 1.04 right now through Origin. The update weighs in over 1.5GB. At the time of writing, the Battlelog is still undergoing maintenance, we’ll update the article once it’s back online.

Update: Battlelog is back up.

Two screenshots courtesy of Incep710n, Commo Rose 2.0 and Minimap type additions.

You can read about these improvements here, and be sure to read the official patch notes and the unannounced ones.

Tags: BF3 Commo-Rose Featured Patch 1.04 PC

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Battlefield 3 – Additional PC Patch Notes for March 29th

  by   David Veselka  
March 28, 2012 4:46 pm in News

If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you’ll know that DICE has officially announced the Battlefield 3 PC patch to go live tomorrow, March 29th between 9 and 11:30 CET [5am-6:30am EST]. Wondering what additional, PC-specific content will be included this time around? We’ve got you covered.

EA Community Manager Ian Tornay has posted on the official Battlefield 3 blog a list of changes and tweaks that PC users can expect in the upcoming 1.6GB update.

New and improved commo rose:

Some of the new commo rose updates, inspired by community feedback, include:

New global call-outs – “You can now use the commo rose at any time to request ammo, health, or repairs. Using these requests will trigger appropriate icons on the minimap.”

Moved orders to commo rose – “We moved orders so that they are now exclusive to the commo rose. This means that you will no longer accidentally place an order when you in reality wanted to spot an enemy standing near a flag, for example.”

Improved mouse handling – “The mouse movement is now always tracked from the center of the commo rose, to make navigation more intuitive.”

Quicker activation – “You now activate a call-out simply by releasing Q, which should be snappier than the previous implementation.”

Improved readability – “We tweaked the layout and design of the commo rose to improve readability and give clearer and quicker confirmation of which call-out is currently highlighted.”

Call outs will now be context sensitive, meaning actions will change depending on your current situation. Also, “players should keep an eye on the minimap for these icons [below]. If you see them flashing, a team mate is requesting aid via the commo rose.”

Improved Mini Map:

The mini map mode can be change by pressing [B] (though is, of course, mappable). Players can also set their preferred mode in the options menu and can tweak the opacity for satellite textures.

As explained on the blog (visual examples below):

Map mode shows the most important tactical geometries such as buildings, objects, roads and water.

Satellite mode displays a top-down photograph of the level for increased terrain detail.

Hybrid mode combines the Satellite view with a Map overlay, offering a mix of quick tactical awareness and terrain detail.

Additional content includes:

Beep beep! We have horns!

Yes! We have added horns to all jeeps in the game! Nothing says “Get in and man the machine gun so we can take back the airfield!” like three short beeps of the horn. Just press [SPACE] to make your presence known to friendly forces. Warning: Beeping also heard by opposition. Suggest limiting beeping when in enemy territory to keep vehicle in working order. This feature is also present in the PlayStation 3 update that went live yesterday (activated by L1).

Giving all players IR flares

To balance the battlefield and give budding pilots a fighting chance from day 1, we are now giving IR flares to all players. These will be automatically available to you in all air vehicles in the game. So if you’ve had a hard time staying up in the air previously, it should be easier to dodge incoming threats from now on. We hope this small but significant change will mean more players take to the skies and mix up their play style. This feature is also present in the PlayStation 3 update that went live yesterday.

More awards for skillful heli flying

One of the balancing items we have done in this game update is to better reward skillful heli pilots. To do this, we have increased the pilot’s score for transporting passengers who make kills from the heli. The assist score for heli pilots is now 50 points/kill. In a fully loaded transport, four passengers who make 1 kill each will give the pilot a sum total of 200 points. This balancing change is also present in the PlayStation 3 update that went live yesterday.

Making the SOFLAM a passive income gadget

The Recon gadget SOFLAM (laser target painter) has been given a new feature. Now, when a Recon player places it and then leaves it, it will continue to paint targets entering its area of control, continuously giving the Recon player a passive points income. This means a Recon player can place a SOFLAM in a strategic position, then leave it to find a good sniping spot. Combined with fixing a few scoring error in the SOFLAM, it should now be a much more viable source of experience points for Recons. This balancing change is also present in the PlayStation 3 update that went live yesterday.

Suppressing is team play, too!

Another balancing change that reflects how we want every player to be able to contribute to the overall effort is the lowered threshold for achieving the Suppression Ribbon. From a previous requirement of 7, players now only need to perform 3 suppressions in a game to be rewarded the Suppression Ribbon. This means the Support Kit player can rack up scores by skillful use of his LMG. We’ve always know suppression helps  – now we are more generously rewarding those team players who help disorient the enemy so we can move in for the kill. This balancing change is also present in the PlayStation 3 update that went live yesterday.

For a list of features that weren’t advertised in the official PS3 patch notes, read our List of Unannounced PS3 Battlefield 3 Patch Notes!

What features are you most looking forward to?

Tags: Battlefield 3 Commo-Rose DICE Featured Patch Patch Notes PC

David Veselka

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New Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Community Challenge – Operation: Raptor

  by   David Veselka  
4:02 pm in News

Last weekend, BioWare commenced Operation: Fortress, in which all players were granted a 25% bonus in experience points. The weekend before that, players were welcomed to the first community challenge, Operation: Goliath. This week, BioWare continues the series of challenged with Operation: Raptor.

In this particular operation, players are tasked with promoting 150,000 characters or more as a community in the ME3 multiplayer, according to the official BioWare Blog. If this community challenge is met, all player will receive a “Victory Pack” the following week. As an individual challenge, players will also have the chance to earn a “Commendation Pack” for promoting 2 characters throughout the course of the weekend.

This even will take place starting at 5PM PST Friday, March 30th and will end at 5AM PST Monday, April 2nd.

Once again, this challenge is only open to Xbox 360 and PC users, though BioWare is working to extend these challenges to the PS3 community. “We are continuing to work with Sony to enable these types of Operations on the PlayStation 3 platform. We appreciate your patience, and we expect an update later this week regarding Operation Raptor and the PlayStation 3,” explained BioWare.

Remember that in order to receive your reward, “Upload Gameplay Feedback” needs to be turned “on” in the online options.

Tags: Bioware Co-Op Featured Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Operation Raptor

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Max Payne 3 Multiplayer Gets First Gameplay Video – Bullet Time, Gang Wars and Payne Killer Revealed

  by   Fahed Jaradat  
12:26 pm in News

Rockstar games has released the first multiplayer gameplay for Max Payne 3. The video showcases two modes, Gang Wars and Payne Killer, and introduces how Bullet Time will work in multiplayer.

As for perks, only Bullet Time was revealed. Bullet Time works in a very unique way. Only enemies in your line of sight will enter Bullet Time. Other perks will be revealed later.

[youtube id=”_Z72JTrknOE” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Tags: Bullet Time Featured Gang Wars Max Payne 3 Payne Killer

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Armored Kill Dev Wants Scout Choppers “To Be a Bigger Part of BF3,” No 2-Man Artillery Units, Mortar Tweaks and More

  by   David Veselka  
11:18 am in News

Our latest Battlefield 3 report looked at a few interesting bits of information regarding DICE’s upcoming DLC, Armored Kill as Lead Designer Gustav Halling answered some burning questions that hardcore BF fans are dying to know. Lucky for us, he isn’t done yet. Halling, head of the Armored Kill project, speaks more on the subject or artillery, vehicles, server issues and hints at some upcoming surprises.

In our last report, Halling mentioned that things were still up in the air in terms of artillery, though some guidelines were in place. One suggestion thrown around was the idea of 2-man artillery – a popular request for air vehicles as well. On the Battlefield 3 UK forums, Halling made it clear, “I dont want the artillery to be a 2 seater.” The rather humorous reason for this “is a well proven concept where in 1942 you drove your artillery into the perfect place and as soon as you switched to fire some noob took it and drove away with it, making you unable to use it,” according to Halling.

He did reveal that players “will not be able to drive and shoot at the same time,” however. He continued, “the way that I want you to switch between driving and shooting is that you switch stance as in a Jet when firing different weapons.” Although, “it will not require the ArmA styles since I dont see it fit the BF3 gameplay because its not a simulator,” he added. Halling also stressed the importance that players “can’t use the artillery system to span around the map spotting everything.” To him, “a goal about teamplay is that it should feel very close to how you are used to help players today, for example using soflams etc.”

When it comes to mortars, Halling explained, “I do actually like the mortar system since it docent give you a direct camera view over the area but only shows spotted or firing enemies.” However, “I do agree there should be tweaks done to it, I would like that audio spotting isn’t seen over the whole map when using a carbine etc but I can’t make any promises,” he added.

Scout helicopters were also in discussion between fans and Halling, as was earlier between fans and Senior Designer Alan Kertz. “I also love Scout helicopters and I want to see more of them. I can’t specify more atm but I want them to be a bigger part of BF3 on all SKUs,” stated Halling. So far, we’ve already seen an additional scout helicopter added to Sharqi Peninsula in the latest PS3 unannounced patch notes.

Lastly, Halling touched on the lack of Hardcore servers ever since the latest server update: “Saw some comments about adding more options to sort out Hardcore servers. I like that too and will forward to the Battlelog team.” So, hopefully, we can expect to hear more about this subject in the near future.

What are your thoughts about artillery, vehicles and the direction they should be headed in for Armored Kill?

Make sure to follow MP1st on Twitter and Facebook for more Battlefield 3 DLC details!

Source: Battlefield 3 UK Forums

Tags: Armored Kill Battlefield 3 DICE Featured

David Veselka

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Ghost Recon Future Soldier Beta Drops in April, PS+ Members Get Early Access

  by   Fahed Jaradat  
10:50 am in News

The official PlayStation Blog has previewed what PlayStation Plus members will receive in April. Along with many cool goodies, which you can check out here, the closed beta for Ghost Recon Future Soldier has been confirmed for next month.

The closed beta will start in April, and PlayStation Plus members will have early access.

Over on the official forums, the forum manager Ubi Mush, clarified some issues:

  • Codes: you should keep the codes somewhere safe. You will not be able to redeem them until the beta has started. Those with emails or receipts please follow the instructions.
  • GameStop: pre-order Ghost Recon Future Soldier and receive a code to register for the VIP beta. Available online and in-store while supplies last.
  • Online/ In-Store Pickup Customers: A code and instructions on how to redeem your VIP beta invitation will be emailed the following Monday after pre-order is placed.
  • Store Customers: A code and instructions on how to redeem your VIP beta invitation will be printed on your receipt at time of reservation. Please send this link with all correspondence with GameStop.
  • Closed vs. Open Beta: A closed beta is for a select few, IE this is usually done through codes or a special disc and an open beta is for everyone, IE you will be able to download it from your console’s dashboard.
  • Yes, if you bought Splinter Cell: Conviction you will have access to the beta early.

Ghost Recon Future Soldier will release on May 22 in the US and May 24 in Europe for Xbox 360 and PS3. The game is confirmed to release on PC at some point later.

Tags: Beta Featured Ghost Recon Future Soldier Playstation Plus

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Battlefield 3 PC Patch Coming Tomorrow, Still No ETA for Xbox 360

  by   Fahed Jaradat  
9:32 am in News

Daniel Matros took to Twitter to update PC players that the platform’s fourth client update will be indeed going live tomorrow.

Matros stated, “PC patch has a date which is tomorrow. Coming in hot we will go into maintenance mode from 9-11:30 CET [5am-6:30am EST].” Meanwhile, it’s still unknown when the Xbox 360 patch will be released. Matros assured, “we haven’t forgotten about Xbox.” However, there’s “no ETA right now.”

The PS3 patch arrived yesterday for everyone except Japan. Players in Japan will get patch 1.04 on April 4th.

PC players can look forward to an improved Commo-Rose, which you read about along with all the other tweaks and fixes here (official patch notes), and also don’t forget to check out the unannounced patch notes PS3 users have been reporting.

Tags: Battlefield 3 Featured Patch 1.04 PC

Fahed Jaradat

Senior Editor and Co-Founder. Multiplayer runs in my blood. Don't believe me? Ask for a sample! Subscriber

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[Updated] A List of Unannounced PS3 Battlefield 3 Patch Notes

  by   David Veselka  
12:07 am in News

Missed out on all the Battlefield 3 PS3 patch details? No problem! You can catch up on all the latest news right here. As many PlayStation 3 users may have already noticed, a number of features made it into the patch that weren’t officially announced in the recent patch notes provided by DICE. Thanks to a number of good folks, we’ve been able to compile a list of these “hidden” features in one convenient place.

We’d like to thank Reddit user “2wheels” and all who commented on his thread. Of course, we’d also like to thank all of our Twitter and Facebook followers who really helped us out big time today. Big thank you to all of our readers and commenters who’ve helped us compile this list!

Again, these notes will not include what was already mentioned in the official patch notes. Without further adieu and in no particular order:

Updates: 

  • Current map and Next Map is revealed in Server Information screen as a “Play” icon and “Fast Forward”
  • RPK now has extended mags
  • The QBB-95 gets an extra heavy barrel unlock at 300 kills
  • The Extended mag was removed from the MG-36, but replaced with a free heavy barrel
  • Items like the 12x scope for the Famas or the suppressor for the MK3A1 Jackhammer are removed
  • CITV station now gives off a red beam much like the soflam beam

Graphical Tweaks:

  • No blind colour mode, but all the icons seem to be much easier to see
  • Possible slight camera and animation changes: Heli’s and jets seem to explode and break up a lot more smoothly
  • More saturation
  • Less blue tint
  • Easier to see icons

Audio Tweaks:

  • Can hear footsteps, reloading as well as voiceovers much more clearly

User Interface Tweaks:

  • Minimap has more focus on team function icons (heal, repair, flags)
  • Icons for vehicles on spawn screen
  • Easier to see what spawn point is selected on map when selecting spawn
  • Other squad leader objectives are marked on flags

Movement Tweaks:

  • Much better responsiveness (Even better with AA turned off)
  • Noticeably faster repositioning from prone to standing or crouching position
  • No more “supercrawl” or “superworm”

Vehicle Tweaks:

  • Moved AA on Kharg (US on carrier, Russian at air strip)
  • Faster vehicle spawn (Mainly air vehicles)
  • Attack helicopter on non-B2K maps respawn in 30 seconds instead of 80 seconds
  • You can fly through poles from half way and up
  • Can spawn into AA guns
  • Jets guided missiles can take out a tank and nearby infantry in 2-3 hits
  • Below Radar has been buffed
  • Stinger takes about 2 or less seconds to lock onto and fire, missiles seem to move slightly faster, 1 hit disable
  • Havoc is noticeably easier to control
  • All air vehicles now start with flares as a minimum
  • Scout heli on Sharqi Rush added for attackers
  • Jeep horns have been added
  • Ground vehicles can be locked onto even when no person was or is in it
  • Jets have reduced bullet damage
  • Multiple players spawning into same jet/heli seems better
  • Air radar is reduced in effectivity, only jets and helicopters are visible and if one uses ECM jammer or below radar, they’ll be invisible on the air radar
  • CITV station now gives off a red beam much like the soflam beam

Equipment and Attachment Tweaks:

  • Laser marker or maybe guided missile range seems to have been increased
  • Red laser designator can be seen from tanks and heli’s as well as SOFLAM’s now
  • Tactical light nerf
  • Greater recoil when suppressed
  • RPK now has extended mags
  • The QBB-95 gets an extra heavy barrel unlock at 300 kills
  • The Extended mag was removed from the MG-36, but replaced with a free heavy barrel
  • Items like the 12x scope for the Famas or the suppressor for the MK3A1 Jackhammer are removed

Squad Tweaks:

  • Can change squad without leaving the current squad.
  • Visible squads now only at 3: Can create new squads
  • There is a much longer period in which you can be revived

Ribbons and Medal Tweaks:

  • Nemesis medal reduced to 30 ribbons
  • Suppression reduced from 7 to 4
  • MCOM Attacker reduced from 3 to 2
  • MCOM Defender reduced from 4 to 2
  • Anti-Explosive increased from 2 to 3
  • Air Warfare reduced from 6 to 5

Match and Map Tweaks:

  • Can now quit between rounds
  • Shorter game start countdown
  • No minimum player count: Players can move around right away, points begin to count after 8 players join
  • Match Making option in multi player, seems to be for esport/organized scrims on custom servers
  • Current map and Next Map is revealed in Server Information screen as a “Play” icon and “Fast Forward”
  • Separate customizations for US and RU
  • 5-flag Wake Island: Conquest Assault
  • Added ladder to Sharqi TV tower
  • On Grand Bazaar Rush, the attackers get a tank after the first set of objectives, instead of the second
  • Changed the out-of-bounds: Noshar Canals

Server Tweaks:

Other Tweaks:

  • Additional Dogtags have been added (A-91 and M26 dog tags. As well as a tag for the game ‘Syndicate’)
  • US Assault/Medic’s arms are now darker-skinned to reflect character model
  • Shortcut bundles added (read here for more details)

 

Of course, feel free to add, correct, confirm or deny any of these unannounced PS3 patch notes in the comments below! We will update accordingly.

Sources: Comments, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit

Tags: Battlefield 3 Featured Patch Patch Notes PS3 PS3 Patch

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

Home > News

Rumor – Black Ops 2 Multiplayer Information Leaked

  by   Fahed Jaradat  
March 27, 2012 2:23 pm in News

Last month, Activision confirmed that, obviously, there will be a new Call of Duty coming this year along with Elite 2.0, and we learned through various leaks that CoD 9 will be subtitled Black Ops 2, release in November, and have zombies’ mode.

As Call of Duty 9, or Black Ops 2, nears completion, a new leak details various aspects of the multiplayer component of the game. The information was first leaked on the official Black Ops forums in a thread that was taken down, and its’ cached version is not available. Fortunately, another user on the forums started another thread, which was also killed off by Activision, but its’ cache survived.

As it is always with leaks of this kind, please bear in mind that this is only a rumor, and should be taken with a grain of salt.

You can find the latest Black Ops 2 news and rumors here.

Leaked Black Ops 2 Multiplayer Information:

This year, Call of Duty will return with it’s ninth installment with Black Ops 2. As expected it will be following Treyarch’s previous game Black Ops. It’s release date is set for the 6th of November.

Game Modes

  • Escort, a new game mode
  • > Similar to Search and Destroy however a live player must be escorted to one of three areas (or two depending on the map) without being killed.
  • >The match will have rounds, consisting of one life only.
  • Drop Zone and Kill Confirmed will return
  • Team Defender and Infected will not return

Pointstreaks

  • Will follow from Modern Warfare 3’s system
  • Larger emphasis on objectives
  • > A bomb plant is worth 2 points
  • > A neutral flag is worth 1, however an enemy flag is worth 2
  • > A flag assist capture is worth 1, a capture is worth 2
  •  The Specialist Pointstreak has be modified
  • > 2 kills now gets you 1 perk
  • > The 4th kill gets you 2 more perks
  • > The 6th kill gets you 3 more perks
  • > The 8th Kill gets you 4 more perks
  • > You do not get every perk when you reach 8 kills
  • > Perks only become “Pro” when you have them Pro
  •  RC XD will not return
  • Heat vision
  • > Is a new Pointstreak reward
  • > When you get the required points, you can activate this Pointstreak and your player pulls out a scope and attaches it to your weapon.
  • > This scopes main advantage is it’s ability to detect enemies through most walls.
  • > Note, the scope can only be attached to primaries not including shotguns
  • Item Packages
  • > Requires 5 points
  • > Fall along side care packages and air drop traps.
  • > Features a list of package items only
  • > Including ammo, mini gun, grenade launcher, rocket launcher, and body armor

Prestiges

  • There will be 15 prestiges
  • There will be 50 ranks
  • Every two prestiges there is a 5 rank increase
  • The final prestige has 90 levels

ELITE 2.0

  • ELITE is being fully incorporated into Black Ops 2
  • Combat record has been modified and re-named as ELITE Stats
  • There will be a specific lobby for clan matches (new way of leveling clans)
  • Clan Tournaments can now be implemented

Removed

  • No MOAB or Nuke
  • No last stand
  • No death streaks
  • No flame thrower attachment

Map Design

  • Map design and size will be following Black Ops not Modern Warfare 3

Sniper Rifles

  • Improved sniper rifle usage.
  • No aim assist for any sniper rifle.
  • Less sway

Customization

  • No longer just perk 1 chooses the players appearance
  • Appearance is a combination of all perks and type of Pointstreak being used.

Hardcore

  • Larger emphasis on hardcore than ever before
  • No grenade launchers
  • Only vehicle guided rocket launchers permitted
  • Respawn timings decreased (for most modes)
  • 1 bullet in the foot will no longer kill a person, a head or chest shot is usually required.
  • A person will now bleed out if severely injured.

Perk System 2.0

  • The Perk Pro system has been upgraded
  • There is now 2 options a perk can advance to.
  • Both require different challenges to unlock
  • Once the desired Pro version is unlocked, the player can select that as their “Perk Pro”.
  • Once selected, the only way to choose the other option is by entering prestige mode.
  • For example Perk slot 1 has the perk called Speed
  • Speed – Reduces the time taken to aim down the sight
  • > Pro I – Swaps weapons faster
  • > Pro II – Throws equipment faster

Combat Training

  • Will be returning with vast improvements.
  • Difficulty is no longer based on how long the bots take to start shooting.
  • Bots now have an advance AI system
  • Similar to the behavior seen in the MW3 Spec Ops survival
Tags: 2012 Black Ops 2 Call of Duty Featured Game Modes Multiplayer Perks Pointstreaks

Fahed Jaradat

Senior Editor and Co-Founder. Multiplayer runs in my blood. Don't believe me? Ask for a sample! Subscriber

Home > News

BF3 – 5 Flag Wake Island Details, Adding More Private Servers This Week, and Shortcuts Bundles Revealed

  by   Fahed Jaradat  
9:24 am in News

Tommy Rydling, aka H Brun, has revealed more information on the 5-flag Wake Island variant and console private server rentals, which were both added through patch 1.04 on PS3. Also, he announced shortcut bundles to buy in the PSN store.

With fan feedback on Back to Karkand in mind, DICE has “added a 5-flag Conquest Assault variant for PS3 on Wake Island,” Rydling explained in a blog post. He continued, “this new flag layout will offer a more tactical gameplay where key bases can turn the tide of the battlefield! Another change in this variant is that the mobile Anti-air now spawns at the Beach base. This now makes the Beach base a very important tactical advantage to own, besides the close distance towards the airfield.” In order to get this layout, you have to “search for Conquest Assault and Wake Island and look out for the ‘CQA Day 2’ item in the server details.”

On the topic of renting console private server, which is an option added in patch 1.04, DICE is highlighting customization and the ease to get the server set-up. You have control over selecting maps and modes, showing the mini map or not, turning off HUD elements, and tweaking respawn times and tickets.

The server time frame options, as we detailed before, are 1, 7, 30, or 90 days starting today. You can even “customize your server by giving it a name, description and custom logo.” However, Rydling noted, “in order to provide a robust and stable experience, we will be rolling out this functionality incrementally throughout the following week. This means we will have limited availability today, ramping up towards maximum capability in about one week’s time. If you try and rent a server and the option is grayed out, it means we are currently at peak capacity. If so, please try again later, as we will ramp up capacity every day.”

Pricing:

  • 1 day: $1.49
  • 7 days: $6.99
  • 30 days: $24.99
  • 90 days: $64.99

Lastly, DICE has announced the introduction of shortcuts to unlock all items within a class, vehicle, or everything: This is geared towards those who want to “gain some ground on the veterans online. Or if you’d love to get some more air time in the jets but want to equip those AA missiles straight away, this is for you.”

The 10 shortcut items are available now from the PlayStation Store and the in-game store and include these:

  • Kit Shortcut Bundle: Immediately unlocks all items unique to the four playable classes
  • Vehicle Shortcut Bundle: Immediately unlocks all items for all vehicles
  • The Ultimate Bundle: Immediately unlocks all items from all other available shortcut packs

Don’t forget to re-download Back to Karkand since that became mandatory after the patch, you can learn more here.

Tags: 5 Flag Wake Island Battlefield 3 BF3 Featured Private Servers PS3 Shortcuts

Fahed Jaradat

Senior Editor and Co-Founder. Multiplayer runs in my blood. Don't believe me? Ask for a sample! Subscriber

Home > News

Battlefield 3 PS3 Server Rental Options and Prices Detailed

  by   Fahed Jaradat  
6:31 am in News

Now that both Battlefield 3’s client side and server side are synced up with patch 1.04, prices and details of server rentals have been revealed.

Update: Here are the prices in American dollars:

  • 1 day: $1.49
  • 7 days: $6.99
  • 30 days: $24.99
  • 90 days: $64.99

Original Story: Renting private servers is now available to all Battlefield 3 players on PS3, and can be done through the PSN. There are four rental durations, 1 day, 7 days, 1 month and 3 months. The prices are in Polish Zloty as renting servers hasn’t been made available in all territories at the time of writing.

(US dollar conversions are in parenthesis) Remember the prices in American dollars below are not final as they are based on conversions, we’ll update the article when the final prices are up on the American/Canadian PSN.

  • 1 day: 5 zł ($1.62)
  • 7 days: 26 zł ($8.40)
  • 1 month: 89 zł ($28.77)
  • 3 month: 218 zł. ($70.46)
UK prices are in, thanks to blondbassis. (US Dollars conversions in parenthesis)
  •  1 day: £1.19 ($1.89)
  • 7 days: £5.49 ($8.71)
  • 30 days: £19.99 ($31.73)
  • 90 days: £47.99 ($76.18)
Thanks to Colonel Ramirez for the tip!
Tags: Battlefield 3 Featured How much private servers cost Prices PS3 Rent A Server

Fahed Jaradat

Senior Editor and Co-Founder. Multiplayer runs in my blood. Don't believe me? Ask for a sample! Subscriber

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[UPDATE 5] Battlefield 3 1GB PS3 Patch 1.04 is Now Live, Rent A Server Option Added

  by   Fahed Jaradat  
3:41 am in News

Finally, the long awaited huge Battlefield 3 patch 1.04 has hit the PlayStation 3 ahead of schedule.

The patch packs in a slew of fixes and tweaks that will be the same for all platforms. Only for PS3, however, is the improvements to the input lag issue that’s been holding back the platform’s version of Battlefield 3 (see update #3). In terms of size, MP1st reader, Logan, supplied the image above confirming that the patch will set you back 1070MB in memory (1.04GB). The patch is still being rolled out to different territories, so don’t worry if it’s not available in your region. The patch also brings a brand new feature for console players in the ability of renting private servers, which you can read more about here.

Be sure to read up on all the patch notes here while you’re downloading the update.

I’ll update the article shortly with more screenshots of the mp menu and several issues being reported. Updates below are in order of importance.

Update 2: Players are reporting errors as the server side hasn’t updated yet. Expect the servers to be updated during the maintenance window, 5am-6:30am EST or 2am-3:30am PST. (Thanks to Matt for the images).

Update 4: Re-downloading Back to Karkand has become mandatory as it was revealed two weeks ago. Those who didn’t re-downloaded the “new, patched version of Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand” prior to the patch, now they will be prompted to do so in order to iron out “a weapon animation bug.” (Thanks, Logan for the image)

Update 3: An option to turn off Anti Aliasing has been added to help reduce the input lag. (Thanks, Logan)

Update 5: The surprise Gustav Halling promised yesterday has been confirmed to be the addition of a 5 Flag Wake Island variant. He stated on Twitter, “BF3 PS3 players have you seen my gift to you in the patch yet? Wake Island 5 flag added for admins to add to their map rotation!” However, there’s more coming as he explained, “we are only talking about the patch going out to PS3 tomorrow [patch 1.04], not upcoming patches, but we may talk about features that will be enabled shortly also the coming weeks that needs more testing or preparation from our side in the backend.” He continued, “I know many people want 1 big thing that has been discussed for a while and I think you guys will be happy for that change I made.”

Update 1: Rent A Server in the multiplayer menu, thanks to Matt:

Tags: Battlefield 3 BF3 Featured Patch 1.04 PS3

Fahed Jaradat

Senior Editor and Co-Founder. Multiplayer runs in my blood. Don't believe me? Ask for a sample! Subscriber

Home > News

Battlefield 3 PS3 Patch Timing, Private Server Info and Surprise Features In Store for BF3 Fans

  by   David Veselka  
March 26, 2012 11:59 pm in News

Global Community Manager Daniel Matros and Senior Designer Gustav Halling have provided some information regarding the upcoming Battlefield 3 PS3 patch as well more news on private servers.

PS3 owners will be able to look forward to the Battlefield 3 early tomorrow morning. Matros stated on his twitter account: “Maintenance and client update coming in for PS3 Tomorrow at 9-10:30 UTC (11-12:30 CET).” For our Western readers, this means between 5am-6:30am EST or 2am-3:30am PST.

Additionally, private servers will be available to rent the moment the patch is released, but only a limited number. Halling clarified, “PS3 players will be able to buy [servers] tomorrow but we are doing a ‘soft launch’ so limited amount. Next week we are at full capacity!” He also stated that these servers “can be both ranked and private. Ranked server however have a few enforced rules you can’t change.”

On the Battlefield 3 UK forums, Halling also teased at an upcoming surprise for tomorrow. He mentioned, “we are only talking about the patch going out to PS3 tomorrow, not upcoming patches, but we may talk about features that will be enabled shortly also the coming weeks that needs more testing or preparation from our side in the backend.” He continued, “I know many people want 1 big thing that has been discussed for a while and I think you guys will be happy for that change I made.”

Before this, he teased something similar in our earlier report, saying “PS3 players will probably notice some of the things that aren’t in the patch notes on tuesday.”

What do you think this feature might be? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Tags: Battlefield 3 Featured Patch PS3

David Veselka

Musician, Gamer, Geek. Subscriber

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