Battlefield 3 PC doesn't have in-game server browser
A set of tweets from DICE senior gameplay designer Alan Kertz seems to imply that Battlefield 3 won't use a traditional in-game server browser, instead relying on the web-based Battlelog to switch servers.
Battlefield 3 may not have an in-game server browser on PC, instead relying on the built-in Battlelog. In response to a question about changing servers, DICE senior gameplay designer Alan Kertz suggests quitting out of the game completely and starting it up again.
The tweet answer (via unofficial fan site BF3 Blog) was in response to a pointed question ("why no in-game servr brwsr on PC"). In other tweets, Kertz says the Battlelog is the main menu, but then references using alt-tab. He also compared the method to Bad Company 2.
Even if going through the Battlelog is lightning-fast, it's a big change from traditional PC server structure that builds browsers into the main menu, and seems to force users to quit out of the game only to start it up again. PC stalwarts aren't likely to appreciate the hassle even in the most ideal of circumstances.
Shacknews has contacted EA regarding the fate of an in-game server browser, but has not heard back at the time of publishing.
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replySteve Watts posted a new article, Battlefield 3 PC doesn't have in-game server browser.
A set of tweets from DICE senior gameplay designer Alan Kertz seems to imply that Battlefield 3 won't use a traditional in-game server browser, instead relying on the web-based Battlelog to switch servers.-
Eat shit EA. You managed to ruin another franchise too. It seems like you're trying to make people not buy your game.
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...here we go again
BEFORE POSTING DRIVEL & HATE, SEE OTHER POSTS BELOW FROM THOSE THAT HAVE ACTUALLY PLAYED THE ALPHA AND USED BATTLELOG
http://www.shacknews.com/chatty?id=26533363#itemanchor_26533363
from yesterday's monster thread:
http://www.shacknews.com/chatty?id=26531609#itemanchor_26531609
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Yeah, definitely, the whole thing blew me away to be honest. As for the browser thing, you can always just open IE9, which is relatively light.
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In the alpha the game did start up fast and joined me right in the server, but what happens when the site goes down? You need flash and java (most people do) to play the game now, also it didn't work for IE users (I don't know why people even use IE).
Why would they ever think it was a good idea to make a website the main menu? Trying to stand out is ok, but when you stand out to much you look like an idiot. -
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This timely post by one of the developers agrees with what you heard: https://twitter.com/#!/Demize99/status/104804641090449410
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yes, of course, do you? dedicated servers can mean lots of things. I'm not talking about the ability for a hosting company running a server without having to launch the game and someone being on that server live, a listen server style. I'm talking dedicated server as is you can host your own server, which you can not and they have said you can not. So, no, BF3 does not have dedicated servers and THEY have stated they will not.
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Yes, Ranked servers for BF2 were via hosting companies, but not just renting slots. You could have a dedicated server on a hosting company and run a ranked server on it, which is completely different than renting slots. Then there is the fact you can run an unranked server anywhere. So the main difference is not LAN and there is a major difference in how the server works. It has gotten worse over time.
I understand why they are doing it. They want to keep a consistant server population so people will not complain and blame when they join a server that is not up to standards. But if the do proper filtering and regulations they could resolve it and keep dedicated servers true.
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Just because you can't host your own server doesn't mean its not dedicated, it just means they forcing you to use other companies for the dedicated server. A dedicated server is a sever that is dedicated to one game server (hence the word dedicated) or a web site. They do have dedicated servers, and if you mean LAN then no they don't have that because it stops hacks? (really? that doesn't make sense at all)
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BF3 of course has dedicated servers but they aren't providing the server software to the public. You have to rent a ranked server pretty much like people have been doing since BF2. Its lamentable but I can't think of any modern game that still has LAN support other than maybe Source Engine based games.
I really don't like the idea of using a a website to launch a game which could be overloaded like say launch day. If they are tying us down to a EA service why not just tie it to the Origin client and provide the features steam has like voip, server browser, community integration. Battlelog may be an improvement over what BC2 called a server browser doesn't I want to be forced to install yet another browser plugin.-
seriously, your comment that they have been doing this since BF2 just shows you do not know what you are speaking about. If you do not know does not mean it does not exist. because there ARE modern games that have LAN support (Homefront, Brink, need I go on? ) And of course, BF2 DOES NOT have "true" dedicated servers.
Unfortunately some "new" gamers are clouded as to what dedicated servers truly are, as deveoplers have twisted it and making people think it is something it is not. And threads like this just show that people do not really know what dedicated servers are.-
I'm pretty sure it's exactly what dedicated servers are. Just because you can't host it doesn't mean it's not a dedicated server. If you are not talking about software that runs independent of the game then you are not talking about dedicated servers.
Enjoy playing on crouch servers in MW3.-
interesting, I guess the deveopers of MW3 do not know what dedicated servers are either:
http://www.shacknews.com/article/69771/modern-warfare-3-on-pc-to-support-dedicated-servers
Oh wait, I think they do and you are the one uneducated in what they are.-
This is all very amusing. By your definition, the developers of Call of Duty Black Ops don't know what dedicated servers are, though! They call their solution dedicated servers even though they're through a hosting company because... they're dedicated servers!
A hosted dedicated server is still a dedicated server. Just because the hosting files aren't freely available doesn't prevent it from being a dedicated server.-
Seriously? My point was to show that they do and calling me out when I state something about dedicated server would be like calling the same thing out to the story I posted. I was not being specific to a "type" of dedicated server, I figured people had the brain power to figure out the diference and not need to defined to a childs level.
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I guess I do need it defined at a child's level, since I'm suddenly a little confused.
I thought your point was that hosted (non-public) dedicated servers weren't dedicated servers?
Your link mentioned how Infinity Ward announced that MW3 will have dedicated servers once again, since their previous game did not (MW2).
I brought up Black Ops since they had hosted dedicated servers and they were referred to as dedicated servers. Nowhere in the MW3 article was it stated that Black Ops didn't have dedicated servers. I made my post since I didn't see how your MW3 mention fit into the discussion, as it didn't dispute the definition of a dedicated server.
Regardless of what your definition of a dedicated server is, this is hardly worth continuing. No matter what we call them, we all know what options exist.
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I'm REALLY MAD about a feature that makes my life easier! http://i.imgur.com/sAIXZ.png
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She comes to your house too?
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She told me it was a first come first serve basis.
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LoL does not have an in-game server browser and it's a total non-issue. It's fine people. Nothing to see here. Carry on.
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Anyone who bitches about using a web browser to launch a game needs to cancel their Steam account, uninstall it, and shut the fuck for all eternity because STEAM IS A WEBKIT BASED BROWSER INTERFACE.
Have Steam running? Web browser is running.
In a Steam game? Web browser is running.
Press Shift Tab? Web browser is running.-
So you think it is OK to have a game's entire main menu be provide by a webpage for both Singleplayer and multiplayer. Steam at the very least as offline mode for running singleplayer games.
My issue with Battlelog has nothing to do with memory consumption but with the browser security model. I void installing plug-ins beyond the almost mandatory flash plugin. Why should a plug-in continue to run in the background while during non-gaming web sessions. EA/Dice have 2 other games using plugins to launch games (heroes and play4free) so why not standardize this into the actual origin client. Origin should be the launcher not a regular browser.
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This is one of the few valid issues I've heard regarding battlelog being the main menu. I would hope their plugins are secure so we never run into an issue with this, but only time will tell.
If they want to continue this approach, it would make sense to integrate it more with Origin. I'd guess it could come down to time constraints with the launch of Origin happening recently and BF3 coming up soon. -
Yes, I think it's ok. I don't think it's a particularly great idea, but I'm willing to see it through.
As far as security concerns about the browser model, I'm right there with you. I think there is room for improvement with their model, And I look forward to community solutions in advance of vendor solutions, like configuring a browser profile just for this purpose.
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Jesus fuck you are dumber than fuck all. That's like saying "So Chrome is just a web browser? Huh, I could have sworn it was a program."
They're all programs you fucktard. What the fuck do you think, that web browsers aren't programs? Do you have any idea what a web browser is, or a client server architecture, or what a fucking program is?
You have about as much insight as a mole rat.-
Steam pulls in a website for the main page, that doesn't make it a browser. It is more of a download manger with a friends list. I know what a god damn web browser is, but you might want to look up the definition. If Steam is a web browser then so is AIM, Xfire, Yahoo Messenger, MSN messenger, etc.
Also I know computer programming so don't ask me stupid questions about what servers and shit are.-
Open Steam. Click Store. Right-click. View Source.
!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"
Open Steam. Launch game. Shift Tab. Click Web Browser.
HOLY FUCKING BATSHIT ROBIN IS THAT A TABBED BROWSER INTERFACE?
I bet those smartypants programmers designed Steam so that it loads WebKit so it can run itself, and then they magically unload all of WebKit when you start a game, despite the fact that the entire Steam interface relies on WebKit and you can still have the Steam window open in another monitor and actively use it, like I do, while simultaneously playing the game.
Then when you hit shift tab and open the browser and it opens immediately, it's not because Steam kept that shit in memory so it could open quickly. No way, every programmer knows the most efficient method of managing your UI is to unload everything needed to render it so each time someone wants to use it you have to read from disk and load that shit back, while you're in the middle of a game that is probably thrashing the disk at the same time.
It's a good thing you're here, since you clearly know how to computer, and your hyper-awareness of rhetoric is doing you huge favors. I would have thought a program that has a full tabbed browser interface, that I can browse any website on, watch YouTube, and jerk off at pornhub with, would have made it a web browser.
After reading you talk about shit like you're the hottest motherfucker on the planet with computering, I really couldn't help but hear this voice in my head for your text:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENTy1nAugOI-
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Everything you described is a part of browsers. Chrome has its UI code, its auto update code, its flash downloader, etc. The fact that some portion of the application is not actively displaying web pages does not mean that chrome is not a webkit based application.
And we're talking about Steam, which means the currently usable version of steam, available right now, so it's not exactly relevant that it didn't always have the in game browser (it also wasn't based on webkit before, but again, doesn't matter).
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IT Professional!
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hahaha
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My god, did any of you people bitching ever play a previous Battlefield game? The UI and browser for EVERY PREVIOUS BF GAME was a total disaster! I WELCOME something that actually works properly.
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Nope, this is definitely the way to go. I hope all games follow up this idea.
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It is absolutely great. Obviously you did not play the Alpha. It works 100% flawlessly, which is more than anyone can say for the previous Battlefield server browsers.
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Of course they didn't bother to look into the subject. They just decided to bitch because "EA is the devilz!" rather than actually doing any sort of research into the browser.
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This sucks and is obviously just done to reduce stress on their backend servers to avoid the launch fail of BFBC2. Fuck you Dice or EA or whoever took this decision.
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Why would it reduce stress on the back-end servers? Does this new browser-based server-browser not behave like a typical server-browser which queries all servers, i.e. does it so some other shit like only showing some static list of servers which only get refreshed hourly or something like that?
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As long as I dont have to wait to get into the game i dont give a shit
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Simmer down people, and try listening to those of us who have already gotten our hands on this setup. It SOUNDS different, but that does not mean WORKS different.
You still browse servers from a menu, it is just in Battlelog. When you want to change servers, you still simply disconnect and it takes you back to the server browser. What you don't see is that it has pulled you all the way out of the game back to Battlelog. It is not slower or less convenient, it is actually faster and allows for several Steam-like featrues, such as the ability for your friends to send you an in-game invite that will automatically relocate you from your current server to your friends.
This is a NON-ISSUE. Let's not make it one because of a reporters ignorant impression.-
Glad to see someone has common sense around here.
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This game is proving to be amusing on several levels. It's like a microcosm of the human condition.
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It boggles my mind how many people don't get it. I have yet to see one person how even claimed to be in the alpha test not like it. I was in the alpha, and not even comparing to previous Battlefield games, it works really well. The load times on my computer were faster than Bad Company 2. Entering and exiting the game was no problem and happened incredibly quickly.
People just hate change I think, and without good reason.
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that's possibly one of the worst and most useless menus ever
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I hope you aren't basing that off a single screenshot.
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I come to Shack News every day and this is the first I've heard about this, so this IS news to me. I suspect I'm not the only one. And yes, I do read all I can about BF3 on other web sites as well.
So STFU retard.-
Sup frontpager.
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I liked the webbased, it let me keep access to the desktop IM and Lamp running so I didn't have to be in game.
I wonder if you can post urls like on the shack to join a game for the Thursday night Shackbattles which redirects to the site or into the game. That was be fucking sweet. -
Although initially angry at this "fuck PC Gamers" attitude, on reflection it could be a good thing. DICE can't make a server browser to save their lives anyway, so this could be a step forward.
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I'm sure all 600,000 people who buy the game will care. The rest of the planet will be playing games that don't suck.
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Lol... Have you tried it?
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wha?
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Aren't the preorders already over 3 million?
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This website is full of retards. Jesus christ.
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This world is full of retards. ftfy :D
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I don't really care whether it's in-game or in a browser or a separate application or whatever, so long as 1) it works and 2) it is fast.
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I think this relevant - http://t.co/CQR1qd5
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Sometimes people take out features, sometimes due to a better one, maybe due to something else...
Perhaps a lack of inspiration, or of motivation, that they can keep selling these 3d models and 3d maps they keep makin and own, and nobody can copy or reuse, and if you start now you look like notch and minecraft, with his neat new idea that would really kick ass if mixed in with good tools, like how microsoft made xna and c# and c++, all their platform and directx sdks are mostly covered in the cost of windows + dev tools (express are free), and are the only tools where you own what you make....that are also good and popular, i should mention oss and gcc, you do own what you make with those too and they also have source + freelegal copy, however they don't mesh with the system of physical trade and physical goods that has always existed until electricity with the telegraph wires and the easy of puttin money into copying and distro faster over telereporters ... and also makin a chokepoint of info too, i have a blog i go into depth on this ;P
Yet they did the black ops mod tools, with no documentation, lol maybe if they made a 'tools sdk' version, with built in app store and community, maybe a mmo-like training system to build mw2-like (or random other) games with those tools, easy 'grouping' and resource/info sharing, and plenty of free and paid apps including with automatic popularity pricing :), so you must make them free until popular, or any other way.
before makin things for people, i suppose you'd just be given one piece of the tools, and a problem or series that can be solved with that brush, like 1 of the warcraft skills, but something they use, perhaps with microsoft inspired (note: they got paid) , freedom and limitations as well....although 'real early' microsoft was almost pro-piracy; he saw it as being there and fundamental to how the computers happen to be, unlike most else, while also noting that truly 'open sourcing' his patented bits that were very, very popular probably since they included good tools where you could win by making something popular
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Once again, DICE removing more features.
Hey, your system is fucking fantastic and nobody will want to use a traditional ingame browser?. Don't be so sure. Why not support both?.
Because they're fucking dicks, that's why. LAN, true dedis, modding, mapping, less features than consoles... I don't know why people want to buy this carcass of a game. -
If they do this it would be like every major car manufacturer saying, "hey, we decided to move the gas cap inside the trunk of your car, we know it might take longer to fill up because you have to open the trunk and close it each time you wanna fill up. having the gas cap on the side isn't in tune with our efforts of making your car less of a hassle." Looks like I might be buying Modern Warfare after all.
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Excellent analogy
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