BF3 Teamplay

[swfwebmaster]

Gamedigital
GAMEFest: Q&A w/ DICE General Manager, KM Troedsson
Wednesday, 14 September, 2011

Gamedigital: Will we see a return of the Battlefield Commander Role from BF2?

Troedsson: We've decided to push down the responsibility of the commander to the squad leaders who can set orders and strategize. The entire team can use the different communication tools available, spot enemies etc.

[swfwebmaster]

For the E3 and Gamescom conferences, EA/DICE intentionally stripped out all teamplay features. There was zero emphasis on improved in-game player behavior or integrated teamwork. The TEAMPLAY features started to magically appear recently mostly because of the Battlefield Community outcry. We are still waiting for DICE to put TEAMPLAY back into the Battlefield franchise.

- Commo Rose - DICE said they would put it back in BF3
- Squad Leader orders - DICE said a order system would be in BF3. No sign of it yet.
- Communication VoIP channels - DICE has talked about it, but it is unclear how it will function.
- Flag placement - DICE claims they are set for 24 players even for the 64 player maps
- Squad spawning system - all squad member spawn BAD. Squad Leader (SL) only spawn with SL deployable spawn GOOD.

I have accepted the poor decision by DICE to exterminate the leader position for each team as they will not be putting the commander position into the game this go-around. Here are some links related to TEAMPLAY:

forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3/1390504-dice-have-you-forgotten-integrated-teamwork.html

forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3/1390147-teach-new-bf-players-ropes.html

forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3/1394261-building-ideal-bf3-bf4-leadership-system.html

forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3/1396583-discussion-strategy-tactics.html

forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3/1424552-play-your-way.html

forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3-pc/1390040-commander-yes-no.html

forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3-pc/1415747-dice-give-us-proper-sequel-not-bfbc2-dress.html

forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3/1414892-true-essence-battlefield-games-i-hope-veterans-will-read.html#post19636224

forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3/1388613-should-there-fire-teams-within-bf3-squad.html

forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3/1415933-fireteam-link-up.html

forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3/1417176-about-6-man-squad-picture-platoons.html

forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3/1427293-teamwork-communication.html

Communication Systems

- BattleLog will have VoIP
- All-team VoIP default setting
- You can move into a sub-channel
- DICE said they would include the Communication Rose (no sign of it yet)
- DICE said they would include an order system (no sign of it yet)

There is a lot that is still unknown:
- Ability to mute
- Ability to kick
- Number of channels
- Channel for Squad Leaders
- Displayed icon for language used within the squad
- Displayed icon for VoIP/No VoIP used within the squad
- Will folks outside the game server be able to talk to folks in the game server
- Will players be able to talk between matches
- In-game text messaging is likely
- Text messages from outside the ongoing game
- Full screen interactive maps with orders overlay
o... Squad Leader ability to see orders of other squads
o... Squad members only see their squad order

--------------------------

"Yes" to the following squad features for BF3:

- Integrated Squads
- Squad Leaders (SL)
- Name the Squad
- Toggle "VoIP encouraged" within the squad
- Toggle language used in squad (French, Russian, Spanish)
- Toggle the function of the squad
o.. Transport
o.. Armor
o.. Sniper
o.. Aircraft
- SL only spawn
- SL deployable spawn
- SL issue orders with Commo Rose & big map interface
- SL has ability to view the orders of other squads
- SL ability to request support
- SL & Sniper request Fire Support (Arty & CAS) with Commander approval
- Two channel VoIP with squad internal and channel to communicate with commander and other squad leaders
- Ability to mute other players
- Ability to kick from squad
- Ability to lock squad
- Status management (Health, Ammo, Repair) depicted
o.. Individual player
o.. Individual vehicle
o.. Overall squad
------------------------------ Samething RE-organized -------------------------------------

From BF2

- Integrated Squads
- Squad Leaders (SL)
- Name the Squad
- SL only spawn
- SL issue orders with Commo Rose & big map interface
- SL ability to request support
- Two channel VoIP with squad internal and channel to communicate with commander
- Ability to mute other players
- Ability to kick from squad
- Ability to lock squad

From BF2142

- SL deployable spawn

**New**
- Toggle “VoIP encouraged” within the squad
- Toggle language used in squad (French, Russian, Spanish)
- Toggle the function of the squad [common practice in the Project Reality Mod]
o.. Transport
o.. Armor
o.. Sniper
o.. Aircraft
- SL has ability to view the orders of other squads
- SL & Sniper request Fire Support (Arty & CAS) with Commander approval
- Command channel ability to talk to other squad leaders
- Status management (Health, Ammo, Repair) depicted
o.. Individual player
o.. Individual vehicle
o.. Overall squad

[swfwebmaster]

eurogamer
Battlefield 3: Why there's no Commander
22 SEP 2011
by Robert Purchese

The Commander role didn't make it into Battlefield 3 because DICE felt it was "a bit flawed", general manager Karl Magnus Troedsson has revealed.

It was, however, "a hot topic" at DICE HQ.

"When the dev team sat down and thought about this, the Commander role was a very important and hot topic in the studio I have to say," Troedsson said, speaking at the Eurogamer Expo 2011 today.

"Some people wanted us to implement it in the absolute same way as we had before; some of us wanted us to reinvigorate how we do it.

"I don't know how many people have tried to play as a Commander in Battlefield 2, but it's kind of a strange experience. Everyone agrees that that actual role of the Commander is very, very cool. But the problem is that only one person per team could play it, and it was always the highest ranking one.

"But even for the people that played as a Commander, the first thing they did was what? They ran off to a corner somewhere and lay down there and tried to hide so the Spec Ops guy wouldn't find them when he was going to blow up the installations.

"They basically spent the whole match lying on the ground on some obscure corner of the map, hoping not to get knifed in the back and trying to support people."

Troedsson concluded: "There was something very cool about the Commander role and there was also something a bit flawed, we have to say."

Battlefield 3 retains the essence of the Commander via squad leaders and gadgets. Squad leaders can order artillery strikes, Troedsson said, and the ability to order a mortar strike is available as a multiplayer unlock.

There's the option to set up gadgets on the ground or on rooftops to scan and target vehicles. There's a remote-control UAV drone that pin-ponts infantry and vehicles, too.

"That's why the idea that we've had, the team-play elements of the Commander mode that we really like, we have tried to push down to the squads and the squad leaders," said Troedsson.

"We've tried to push this down into the squads so they can both fill the roles that the Commander had, but then also be an active soldier on the battlefield."

[swfwebmaster]

Battlefield Blog
New Squad Interface
21 NOV 2011

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

A detailed look at Squad refinements
Today's PC client patch features numerous tweaks to Squad functionality and is part of our ongoing efforts to make it easier to play with friends and Platoon mates. These changes will also be implemented for consoles when we release the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 updates shortly. Stay tuned for the exact date of the console updates.

First, we need to look at how joining with Squads and Platoons affects the balance of teams. Initially, servers are commanded to equal out each side, so joining with friends can impact that balance while joining with Platoons further hinders this. As a result we have made some adjustments to the in-game Squad management screen.



For PC, you are now able to highlight the various Squads and select which one you wish to join by selecting a Squad and then clicking the Join Squad button. Please note that the Squad Privacy option still allows 2 man Squads which, during 64 player sessions, can lead to players with no squad position –- the number of people with no Squads will be shown at the bottom of the Squad selection list.



After the patch is applied to consoles (in the near future) you will be able to join Squads by cycling through the list and selecting which Squad you wish to join.