14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday, a PDF document containing a bunch of outlined features for Battlefield 3 appeared on the Internet. Guys over at digitalbattle.com said that the three page document looked like something that investors should receive by December, detailing basic features of the respective game. After numerous clarification attempts from the website, EA and DICE responded to the rumours.
But first, take a look at what the PDF revealed:
"Release in late 2008 Powered by "Frostbite DX" Set in year modern day (just like BF2, ed.) Will ship with 8 maps, each supporting up to 40-players per team Two playable factions, NATO and MEC (Middle Eastern Coalition) Same "ticket-based" gameplay style as before Maps are mostly urban, based in Middle East Squads and Commanders are present, introduced are "Battalions" which consist of three to four squads. Five playable classes; Sniper, Assault, Engineer, Medic and Support Will feature 48 different vehicles (24 for each faction) Will feature 34 different weapons (17 for each faction) and another 22 unlocks (for both factions), in total 56 different weapons. Other unlocks include different types of ammunition, body armor, helmets, camouflage and accessories. Possible public beta in "Summer 2008?? Online stats tracking, awards and "real world ranks" "Soldier" feature, looks like MMO-styled characters and avatars Ranked servers will be available for resellers weeks before the game ships (for testing, apparently, ed.) In-game replay and recording feature VoIP, friends list, in-game IM-client and "extensive clan support" Built-in auto software updater (no more patches!, ed.) Widows Vista and OS X (no XP?!, ed.) Announcement and teaser trailer in January 2008."
At the website's first attempt of clarifying whether all of the stuff mentioned in the PDF document was true, EA responded with a "no comment" statement, while DICE were still holding their mouths shut. In a short while though, both companies responded to the rumors, in a very typical manner. A DICE Representative from the company's Swedish office said:
"We don?ft comment on rumors or speculation. Currently announced titles from DICE are Battlefield Bad Company and Mirror?fs Edge, you?fll hear from us officially as soon as we have anything further to announce. For any future announcements regarding Battlefield keep an eye on battlefield.com."
Everyone is still looking for more clarification, but the information looks pretty damned legit if you ask us, so while we're waiting to see what EA and DICE have to say further on, just try and implement the upper mentioned features in the game, using your imagination, to make a picture of what Battlefield 3 should be like. Speculation also says that the game is due out in early 2008.