Battlefield 3

THE BUZZ: Though the term “beta test” is now used more and more to simply refer to letting players get a taste of a game early, the real point of a beta is simple: Figure out what’s broken or wrong about a game (or product) before it’s considered finished and released to the public.

Thankfully, DICE seems to understand that idea, and has used the recent Battlefield 3 multiplayer beta test to get an idea of what parts of the game need fixing, changing, or tweaking.

Today on the official PlayStation Blog, Jr. Product Manager at DICE Tommy Rydling pointed out four ways (out of “hundreds of changes”) in which the information they gained from the game’s beta test will make Battlefield 3 better when it launches.

Improved Squad Functionality
There will be improved squad functionality in the retail game (including but not limited to): the ability to create squads prior to launching into a game, sticking with your squad when joining a game and continuing together through future games (if team balance on the server allows it), inviting friends to a squad, and changing squads once in game.

More Accessible Settings Menu
The ability to modify your settings via the deploy screen has been added into the retail game.

Improved Kill Cam
In the Open Beta, the Kill Cam would sometimes behave erratically. This has been fixed for the launch of the retail game.

Netcode Optimization
The netcode is one of the many things that we tested as part of the Open Beta and it was not necessarily reflective of the final retail game. The DICE team appreciates, and has heard, the feedback you’ve provided and is further optimizing online play.

EGM’s TAKE: As I expressed in the opening paragraph, this is exactly what beta tests should be all about. I’m glad to see DICE working hard to address many of the issues players had, and hope that it’ll make for a better experience once Battlefield 3 hits.