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One of the biggest complaints that I have heard so far about the beta, is dealing with the graphics on the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. So I wanted to take a few moments to address these concerns.

Let us begin by reminding ourselves that this is a beta. It is not a demo of the final build of the game. You are playing an unfinished product. DICE has also said that this is an older build that we are playing of the game. Publishers must go through certification in order to submit content to the consoles. This can take up to a month in some places. So DICE had to submit this build of the game weeks ago.

The goal of the beta is to receive feedback on different elements inside the game. To test the servers – test the weapons etc. It is NOT to impress you with graphics.

The other thing to remember – is Battlefield 3 beta also looked bad! The final version of the game included an HD Texture pack. And it made a HUGE difference.

One thing that I will concede. I think the Shanghai Beta map looks a lot better when the C Tower is still standing. Once levelution has been initiated and the tower falls and covers everything in dust, then the map does have a very bland look to it which looks bad. But if you have ever seen the footage of the 9/11 Twin Towers falling – you’ll know that it isn’t a very pretty sight. The area does turn to dust color – and it is very bland.

Either way – take the beta for what it is. A chance to try out Battlefield 4 before it releases. It is not a preview of the exact game you will be getting on release date. I can assure you, that graphics are the last thing you should be concerned about when it comes to DICE and Battlefield 4. Even though the PC & next gen consoles will look vastly superior – I don’t believe for a second that it will be a complete turd on Xbox 360 & PS3 graphically.
Stay informed with breaking gaming news at VGN.  Also, feel free to check out my youtube channel to watch more videos on Battlefield 4.

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Back to the Basics: Options

I know that you are excited to get on the Battlefield and ready to start going to work on destroying your opponents.  While you can survive by jumping in and smashing buttons to figure everything out, my first bit of advice is to just go to the options menu and have a look.  PC players have the perk of doing a custom key binding, but console players are far more limited.  Console players are also more likely to have trouble figuring out the controls because the default settings have changed.  Spotting and driving vehicles are changed up enough that it will have veterans scratching their heads at first for a min.  Knowing which buttons bring up the right tools at the right time is going to make your experience a lot more enjoyable from the start.

There are also other options including a color blind mode if you are having trouble distinguishing the colors on screen.

Pre-Spawn Gameplan:

The First thing you want to do before you spawn into the game, is be sure you are joined up in a squad.  In Battlefield 4, squad size has been increased to 5.  I recommend that you join a squad that is almost full.  This will give you more spawn choices, and also give you better odds of getting squad perks once you get in game. (I’ll talk about squad perks in another video)

Take a moment and look over the Battlefield.  Pay attention to what bases you have – where your team is located – and what enemy armor is in the area.  The last thing you want to do is spawn on a base with a enemy tank and you have a sniper rifle.  Prepare your loadout for what you will be facing.  If you are spawning in an area with enemy tanks. Bring an engineer with rockets.  The other thing to note is your friendly vehicles that are empty.  If you see that no one is using the tanks on your team. Jump In.  Even if you aren’t good – the only way to get better is to practice.   Vehicles can turn the tide in any map on Battlefield 4.  So make sure you aren’t letting a good opportunity go to waste.
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@TwTheRedDragon

Red Dragon Youtube

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Release Date: 10/29/2013
Rumored (leaked?) Beta date: 09/29/2013

Media

• Official Trailers
  • Battlefield 4: Official “Siege of Shanghai” Multiplayer Trailer
  • Battlefield 4 — E3 Multiplayer Gameplay — Best Moments
  • Battlefield 4: Official Commander Mode Trailer
  • Battlefield 4: Official “Angry Sea” Single Player Gameplay Video
  • Battlefield 4: Official 17 Minutes “Fishing in Baku” Gameplay Reveal
• Gameplay Footage
  • E3 LevelCap Weapon and Squad Perks (Direct Feed)
  • E3 LevelCap Weapon Classes and Suppression (Direct Feed)
  • E3 Machinima Gameplay Demo
  • E3 Sniper Gameplay
  • E3 Livestream Day 2 Part 1
  • E3 Livestream Day 2 Part 2
• Official Gallery

Expansion Packs

• China Rising: free with preorder
• Second Assault: includes 4 maps from BF3

Features

• 64 players, 60 fps confirmed for XB1 and PS4 (1080p has been mentioned, but is yet to be confirmed); expect 30 FPS, 24 players, kinda-HD for X360 and PS3 – Commo Rose
• Confirmed game modes: Squad Deathmatch, Conquest, Rush, and Team Deathmatch (at least 2 new game modes will come, but some from BF3 will be dropped; implied 7-10 game modes total)
• Hardcore mode
  • Ammo is magazine-based, not “pool”-based
• In-game VOIP
• No Mod Support: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/06/13/battlefield-4-mod-support-ruled-out-by-dice-2/
• No Battle Recorder; can rely on built in XB1 and PS4 recorders
• Practice mode/tutorial mode for vehicles
• Better Battlelog integration for consoles
• USMC, Russia, and China factions

Maps

• Siege at Shanghai (featured in E3 Pre-Alpha)
• “Levolution”
  • Every map will have changes that can alter the makeup of the map/level. For example, in Siege in Shanghai, after the skyscraper falls, a small peninsula of rubble can be traversed and dust/debris in the air decreases visibility in the area. The base that was once on top of the building is now on the ground. Anyone on top of the building as it collapses dies automatically currently
  • So far, not scripted–can take out supports to bring down skyscraper
  • Urban areas can’t be flattened by destruction; design choice, not engine limitation
• Improved environments
  • Metal detectors can expose you, storefront gates can be shut to cut people off, fire extinguishers create smoke screens, bollards can prevent vehicle access
  • Water reacts dynamically to vehicles and events (skyscraper falling)

Commander Mode

• One player on each side that does not occupy a player slot (64 players + 2 commanders)
• Can be played from console, PC, or remotely with a tablet (“Mobile Commander” mode) – PC Commander mode has more info than using the Tablet it was mentioned, but is very similar.
• In some game modes, bases can reward commanders with new features. For example, capturing (  C  ) base will give your commander a Tomahawk Missile. If your team captures ( B ), your commander could receive UAV support. Confirmed Commander Abilities: UAV / Tomahawk / Artillery / Vehicle Drop / AC-130 Gunship (Commander can deploy gunship, but Players have to then spawn in to use it like BF3) / EMP UAV / Supply Drop – and More
• Set attack orders for individual squads; squad leaders can confirm that they are accepting the commander’s orders
• Included in Conquest and Rush so far
• Commander persistence/skill tree
• Commanders are not chosen based on rank – you need to queue into the server as commander and wait. If your team has a commander that is not helping, your team can ‘mutiny vote’ and remove the commander
• If squads follow your orders, everyone receives bonus points

Spectator Mode

• Confirmed for PC, “we’ll see” for console
• Views: Table Top, First Person, Third Person, Free Cam
• Can “set” up to five free cams around the map to quickly jump to certain location
• UI can be turned off
• Can click on player from table top view and get PiP view of their screen

Game Mechanics

• Squad assists can count as kills if you contibuted the most to the kill (maybe >90%?)
• Reduced suppression: Support now contributes the most to suppression and it has a greater effect at long range
• ADS near cover allows a “peak” cover system. Not sure if you can lean left/right, but seems you can pop up above cover
• “Click to spawn” deployment options; you can click on a spawn point or squad member to spawn
• Interface is muuuch less click-heavy vs BF3
• No in-game Kill feed (your kills are displayed in center of screen briefly) or Killcam, but this is subject to change (pre-alpha)
• Movement system has been tweaked for momentum; it takes a moment to get to full sprint speed
• Directional callouts–the default “enemy spotted” voice seems to indicate directions/location relative to your position
• Hand gestures indicate commands, including spotting; multiple enemies can be spotted at a time
• Ladder climbing is faster
• Proprietary matchmaking system instead of system matchmaking
• Skill system, in addition to matchmaking; can set skill reqs for servers
• “Partial mod” support; likely to be server-side modifications (vehicle count, damage mods, player count???)
• In-game HUD shows hotkeys for different gadgets/attachments at bottom/middle of the screen
• When spawning, you’ll see live feed gameplay of wherever you choose to spawn. (squad member, vehicle, capture point, etc.)
• Bullet tracers and smoke trails are more prominent; grenades have smoke trails
• Knife attacks can be countered by pressing button when prompted (small window)

Sea Combat

• Can dive to avoid gunfire
• Can shoot pistols under/above water while swimming (shooting underwater is very inaccurate)
• Can sprint swim
• Sea combat: Jetskis, boats, and “ships” confirmed.
  • Exiting an attack boat launches you directly into a jetski from the back of the boat

Vehicles

• Enhanced vehicle disabling: Vehicles are disabled based on the parts that are hit; however, tires can’t be shot out (it’s not that granular)
• Vehicle customization/specialization is more robust than BF3 – Paint / Camo for Helicopters and Armor
• Air – Helicopters have Night Vision
• Land
  • Limited MBT 120mm ammo, which can regenerate
• Sea
  • Can be outfitted with anti-air and anti-armor rockets

Classes, Weapons, and Equipment

• All classes
  • Excellent gallery of loadout screens
  • Faction-specific weapons are back
  • All classes have access to their primary weapon class, carbines, designated marksman rifles, and shotguns
  • Pistols can be customized
  • Grenades: HE, flashbang, and incendiary
  • Tons of attachments/customizations (green hipfire laser sights, different foregrips, barrel types, bipods, silencer/flashlight combo)
  • Over 1200 items that can be unlocked via 300 “Battlepacks”, which can be earned or bought
  • Attachment system
    • Optics: various sights
    • Barrel: muzzle brake, etc.
    • Accessory: canted iron sights, laser pointer (same as BF3), green laser pointer (possibly stealthier, only shows up to enemy if directly in their eyes)
    • Underbarrel: angled grip (lower initial recoil), vertical grip (same as BF3)
• Assault
  • Primary: assault rifles
  • Medic Bag: deployable health
  • First Aid Pack: You toss this onto someone. It regenerates their health, regardless of their proximity to you. If you toss onto ground, it can be picked up by someone else
  • Defibs need to be charged before you can pick someone up; seems they still need to be unlocked Actually, they were not in the Alpha due to a bug found at the last minute
• Recon
  • Primary: sniper rifles
  • C4; can be thrown again, and can attach to boats
  • Motion sensor ball (it also seems there is TUGS, but haven’t seen it in-game; we have seen the sensor ball in-game, however)
  • Range finder and scope zeroing
  • Ability to use different zoom levels in one scope
  • SOFLAM is handheld
• Support
  • Primary: LMGs
  • Ammo bag: deployable ammo
  • Ammo pack: ammo that can individually be given to someone
  • Support has 25MM support grenade launcher, grenades explode midflight. Aim at target, then lift sights and fire and grenade explodes above target
• Engineer
  • Primary: PDWs
  • Engineer can carry AT Mine and Repair torch at same time
  • RPG, Stinger, MBT-LAW – RPG can lock onto SOFLAM Targets

Squads

• Field Upgrades
  • Team actions/XP build up your squad “field upgrades” meter
  • You get to pick your upgrade “path”; you share XP, but pick your own field upgrades–there are no more squad specializations
  • Two field upgrade paths: Offensive and Defensive (more field upgrades may be added down the line) Example – Ammo / Grenades / Boost
  • Squad wipe takes you down one level; there are four levels of field upgrades
• 5 players per squad
• Default is squad-spawn on anyone; squad leader-only spawning is server setting

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=589056

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Battlefield 4 Multiplayer Screenshots

Whether or not the screenshots remain up for a long period of time remains to be seen. So if the images are taken down, let me explain some of the more interesting things to note.

• The menus look much cleaner with a heavier integration of Origin

• Listed is a “Bronze Battlepack” – Description reads – Bronze Battlepack contains 3 items, including: - A minimum of 2 standard items – 1 Bonus item with a small likelihood of rewarding an Advanced Item

• Squads look like it has 5 players now

• Deployment Screen now shows which vehicles are at the base before you spawn in

• Back Button appears to take you to a Social Hub (Just like Medal of Honor)
• Press Y for “Team Setup” (Not sure what this is – maybe you can elect leaders)

• New Assault Rifle CZ-805

• New Specialization called “Offensive”
• Looks like there may be more unlocks for grenades – so possibly different types of grenades
• Setup screen shows a chart for each weapon that gives a visual graphical representation of Damage / Accuracy / Mobility / Range / Handling / Firemodes / Rate of Fire / Magazine Size

• New Engineer Weapon CZ – 3A1 – Scorpion Evo

• New Support Weapon U-100 MK5

• New Recon Weapon Scout Elite – Can equip a Variable Zoom [14x]

• One map feature a city line that includes the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai

• D-Pad indicator on Hud shows your different accessories
• Commo rose confirmed for consoles

• Appears to have a sprint function in the water to swim faster
• Can ride an elevator up to the 40th floor of one building on the map shown

• New Vehicle – Cougar H – - Heavy armored vehicle that is designed to be resistant to anti-vehicle mines and improvised munitions according to Wikipedia

• Tank displays ammo (That regenerates) – And indicator displaying how long before your smoke is reactivated

Reaction to new features and further discussion

The Red Dragon - Special thanks to Houdini for helping me compile this list

Stay tuned to VGN – VideoGamesAndNews.com 

View All Leaked Battlefield 4 Screenshots Here

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