The extra time gives developers time to get the quality right

Mar 28, 2012 08:44 GMT  ·  By

The certification process, which means Sony and Microsoft need to take a close look at all content, be it patch or DLC, that is released on their home consoles, has been frustrating for the developers at DICE who try to quickly roll out PC patches for Battlefield 3.

Patrick Bach, who is the executive producer working on Battlefield 3, has stated, “It’s very frustrating when it comes to – you have the fix, it’s done but you can’t roll it out. It’s not unique to us – everyone lives in this reality.”

The fact that the team is basically forced to wait has one positive element: it forces the entire content to be tested a few times over, which leads to an increase in the quality of the delivered content.

Bach added, “We have had problems with patching in things like Battlefield 2 where you had to patch the patch because the patch screwed it up and then you have to apply a patch to the patch to the patch.

“And that’s, from a player perspective, that’s not a great experience – ‘Oh is this the 6.8 patch or the 6.9? Because the 6.8 broke the game and now you need to unbreak it!’ So getting focus and testing and all those things is actually a positive.”

Battlefield 3 is a complex video game and that means that the development team at DICE needs to be quick when deploying patches in order to keep the fan base interested while also making sure that it does not introduce more problems than it fixes.

At the moment DICE is working on Close Quarters, the next significant DLC pack for Battlefield 3, which will focus on battles in small areas, using new weapons and items.

The developer is also preparing two others content packs for later during the year, one focused on long-range battles and another titled End Game.