Battlefield 3 developer defends stripped down PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version
Many PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 console users were slightly concerned when almost every demonstration of Battlefield 3, including the E3 demo, was run on PCs instead of either of the two consoles.
The main worry for fans was that the game might end up being inferior to its PC counterpart and the latest piece of news seems to indicate that might actually be true.
According to DICE, the developer working on the game’s multiplayer component, the console versions of Battlefield 3, have been trimmed in quite a few areas.
The PC version of the game will be able to accommodate 64 players simultaneously, with 32 players on each team, while the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions will have a player cap on 24 players.
Patrick Bach, the head of DICE, put it more tenderly thought when he said, “The biggest difference between the PC and console version of Battlefield 3 is that we have 64 players on PC and 24 players maximum on console.”
He went on to explain that the game itself was exactly the same as the one on PC, making use of all the same technology, “The rest is more or less the same: we use the same engine, the same technology, the same animation system, the same lighting system.
Our aim is to give the player the exact same experience and not try to dumb down the console version.”
According to the developer the move was not out of laziness or being ‘evil’, but rather more due to the technical limitations of the current generation of consoles. DICE explained that having a larger number of players in multiplayer did not always equal
success, and that the 24 player limit, with 12 players on each side was a sweet spot for the consoles.
DICE continued to defend their case and with each passing statement it became clear that they were not cutting corners on the console version, but rather just trying to optimize it for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
The size of the maps in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 were popular among fans and it turns out that DICE terms those as ‘small’ so players can expect larger, if not similar, sized multiplayer maps in the next installment of the Battlefield series.
Another piece of good news for fans was that the developer confirmed that fighter Jets would be making their way onto the console versions as well, though the overall number of vehicles would be reduced.
It seems that the only reason DICE was making all the cuts is in order to find the right balance for the game on consoles, but it seems that Battlefield 2’s heart lies with the PC.
Gamers can see for themselves if the cuts make a difference, or if the experience remains intact, when the game releases in October.
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