Just this last week, Battlefield 3 began its long-anticipated beta across three platforms. After months, if not years of hype, many were shocked to see what has been perhaps one of the most bug-ridden high-profile beta experiences in a long time. However, not all is lost, as it appears that DICE is well ahead and has a much more stable version in their laboratory.
DICE Community Manager, Daniel Matros, has posted a comment on Twitter which confirms that the beta version runs on older code, which explains its instability, numerous glitches, and visuals that many have considered disappointing. The post states:
A lot of what you are seeing in the BETA doesn’t exist in the main game already. 1st Party submissions mean we couldn’t give a version of the latest code in the BETA but the retail game is well ahead of what you are seeing now with a lot more bug fixes already in place.
After playing the beta for over five hours, I have personally encountered bugs and glitches of all types, ranging from clipping issues, to visual phenomena. Surprisingly, some of the same squad issues that plagued Battlefield 1943 are back in this latest addition to the series, such as voice chat completely cutting out, and parties being split after a round ends. A patch was released yesterday which addressed the prevalent ground clipping issue on Operation Metro, and appears to have cleaned up the problem nicely. However, there are still plenty of issues left that drag down what is otherwise a remarkable experience, and it’s hard to imagine them all being ironed out in a single revision. Feedback so far has been largely negative due to these issues, and rest assured DICE is working diligently to address them before they compete with Call of Duty heading into the holiday season.
What has your experience been in Battlefield 3‘s beta so far? Share your response in the comments below.
