14 DAY TRIAL // DICE has finally released the promised patch for the PC edition of Battlefield 3, which fixes all sorts of problems and issues with the first person shooter, while implementing plenty of updates to the servers and the squad options.
Battlefield 3 sold a huge amount of copies since it was released and was regarded as a very polished shooter. There were quite a few issues with it, however, including the blinding tactical lights or plenty of balance issues when trying out the multiplayer with friends.
DICE, the studio behind the game, has listened to the community and addressed many of issues and problems that were spotted by players, through this first update for Battlefield 3.
Currently, the patch is only available for the PC version of the game, via Electronic Arts' Origin digital distribution service, but the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions of Battlefield 3 will get the update as soon as it's certified by Sony and Microsoft, respectively.
Check out some of the changes included in this update for Battlefield 3 on PC in the list below.
Client side changes
General performance and loading time improvements "Black Screen" fix for an issue occurring on some PC Configurations Stereo and Rendering Support for Nvidia and AMD Graphics Cards Adjusted the "stuttering" encountered on some PC configurations. Fixed several Crashes when joining MP and Co-Op sessions Fixed multiple problems when using multiple monitors (Eyefinity / Surround). Fixed visual corruption issues on certain Nvidia Cards Improved loading times for certain textures Added console command "GameTime.MaxVariableFps" to limit max FPS Added console command "UI.DrawEnable" to hide UI for screenshots / videos Balance and Gameplay Adjustments (PC) Fixed a problem with high speed mouse movement Added back some missing Growlers on Kharg Island Conquest Large Added back EOR sound for SQDM and TDM You should no longer be able to damage a friendly vehicle when sitting in an open position Grenades now drop to ground if you get killed while attempting to throw it(note the affect this will have on Hardcore mode!) Spawn protection now should work in Conquest. You should no longer spawn on points too close to enemies You should no longer spawn too close to enemies in TDM and SQDM Combat areas on Kharg Rush tweaked in order to disallow defenders to access the carrier ship after 1st base is taken and being able to enter the AA gun Fixed a problem with revived players not suffering suppression Fixed a problem with the camera when being revived in COOP Added joystick deadzone setting Fixed sound for when climbing ladders Fixed an issue with some weapon sounds in first person Fixed a swim sound loop error Increased the damage of Helicopter Miniguns, AA guns, and Jet Cannons against infantry Increased the damage of Helicopter Miniguns against jeeps. Reduced the physics impact of AA guns and Jet Cannons, players under attack from these weapons should no longer lose control. Increased the damage of the 44 Magnum slightly. Increased the range and minimum damage of the .357 Round from the MP412 Rex. Increased the range of all .45cal and 9mm weapons. Slightly increased the range of the P90 and MP7 and PDW-R. Slightly increased the range of the 5.56mm PDW-R and decreased the minimum damage at long range. Slightly increased the minimum range of the Mk11, SVD, and M39 EMR 7.62mm rifles. Decreased the maximum damage and maximum range of the G3 and SCAR-H 7.62mm weapons. Reduced the damage from FIM-92 and SA-18 IGLA missiles against aircraft. Increased the damage and range of the 40mm BUCK rounds. Reduced the damage .50cal weapons do against Helicopters. Updated T90 canister shell tweaks to match Abrams canister shells UI Changes (PC) Added round duration and ticket summary at EOR Advanced squad polish - should be more intuitive Significant changes to the Join Squad functionality (see below) Fixed a problem regarding keybindings while playing You should now get a better error message when being disconnected via Battlelog
Server Update Highlights
EOD Bot exploit fix Several crash fixes Anti-stat padding measures taken, disallowing ranked servers to run obscure settings Improved team kill kick configuration Support for unranked servers. Unranked servers do not report players' scores to Battlelog, but server administrators can freely control all settings Share your profile and stats with new Battlelog functionality Ability to share your Profile and Stats pages to Facebook, Google+, and Twitter User Profile and Stats pages on Battlelog can now be accessed without being signed in to Battlelog if you know a user's URL Single sign on from Battlelog to Origin. If you're not logged in to Origin and join a game server, Battlelog will automatically sign you in to Origin in the background and join the game server
Quick notes on Squad changes in the Nov 22 update
Removed FIND ME A SQUAD option Allow players to join empty Squads alone, thus having 1/4 squad members Change order of options to LEAVE SQUAD, INV A FRIEND, SWITCH TEAM Disable Privacy flag when 1 man squad Reset Privacy flag from Private to Public when squad drops to 1 player All occupied Squads will now show up colored blue on the Squad Selection screen Players who choose not to join squads will also show up as Blue in the "Not in a Squad" line Squads that are currently empty will display as white -- if you wish to join an empty Squad, you can choose the first one marked with white text The Battlefield 3 update can be downloaded on the PC through EA's Origin service.