Competitive Match Settings Added to Battlefield 3

[Shawn Zipay]

To appease jimykx, the team at DICE and EA have updated Battlefield 3 with a competitive "Matches" feature. These new additions will be a huge feature for competitive players as it allows admins to create very specific conditions for a round of Battlefield, an absolute must have feature for the competitive scene.

Battlefield 3 players will be able to select the time, server, game settings, and roster for their Matches creating a controlled and definitive environment for competitive play.

Players will be able to coordinate Matches for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 through the Battlelog. To coordinate a Match a player must be actively renting a dedicated server. Once a dedicated server has been selected the Match host can set the Match name, start time, game mode, team size, and map rotations.

Beyond this, players can dictate specific game settings including win conditions, toggling of almost every game feature, which weapons are permitted, and so much more. Rosters are even able to be set and the match won't begin until the dictated roster is in place. Warm-up phases have also been included prior to the real competition beginning.

The big issue that players are having right now is with the fact it seems as though the Matches feature is limited to just two maps, which may be quite limited for conventional competitions.

(via)

[dvereb]

Lol! They finally release this ... months after I quit playing because it got boring pubbing all day.

[jimykx]

Re: Competitive Match Settings Added to Battlefield 3

Lol! They finally release this ... months after I quit playing because it got boring pubbing all day.

This won't allow you to create matches, unless you are already paying for a server




And thank you Zips xD

[dvereb]

Re: Competitive Match Settings Added to Battlefield 3

This won't allow you to create matches, unless you are already paying for a server

Not sure why you quoted me for that. ?

[Stev0esque]

Re: Competitive Match Settings Added to Battlefield 3

I Think he thought that you thought the same way as him before the full details were released.

That first part of that sentence felt like a bit of a tongue and Grammar twister...

[jimykx]

Re: Competitive Match Settings Added to Battlefield 3

Well, what i got from your "I got bored of pubbing all day" was that you got bored of being in public servers and wanted to create your own matche for you and your friends. The thing is that this won't allow you to create matches. It only allows you to manage created ones (servers you have rented)

[Anarchy1]

Re: Competitive Match Settings Added to Battlefield 3

The big issue that players are having right now is with the fact it seems as though the Matches feature is limited to just two maps, which may be quite limited for conventional competitions.

That's a pretty big obstacle, isn't it?

And the fact that you have to set rosters and wait for everyone to get in before the game starts means that this feature will rarely be used by the PC competitive community. Many clans don't predetermine their roster.

[dvereb]

...this won't allow you to create matches. It only allows you to manage created ones (servers you have rented)

Hmm. Perhaps it's just me with minimal sleep, but here's what I got. To me, managing a server to set it up for specific details to be played sounds exactly like creating matches. At least that's what I got out of this:"To coordinate a Match a player must be actively renting a dedicated server. Once a dedicated server has been selected the Match host can set the Match name, start time, game mode, team size, and map rotations."

and this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVZyBAwp8FYSo

That all being said, I guess I don't understand where the confusion is. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding terms. Wouldn't this match feature allow me to "create your own match for you and your friends"? ... assuming I rent a server, that is.

[dvereb]

Re: Competitive Match Settings Added to Battlefield 3

That's a pretty big obstacle, isn't it?

This one had me shocked at first. Then I realized they didn't mean only two of the bf3 maps could be used in the matches system - just two at a time in a map rotation.

[CptainCrunch]

Re: Competitive Match Settings Added to Battlefield 3

When myself and my clan played TWL leagues for CoD we and our opponents knew the rosters. I think its very doable, but this feature is entirely limited to competition.

I dont get why there is a limit on two maps at this time. I would think all the backend stuff would not affect the map selection. I find that kind of strange. If it is any two maps at a time, I guess that is OK, but I still dont see why the limitation, unless these settings are being stored in the memory of the configured server and is not a permanent configuration.

[Anarchy1]

Re: Competitive Match Settings Added to Battlefield 3

In the more serious leagues, then most of the rosters are more or less set because you use the same guys throughout. But in casual leagues like TWL, I see teams (mine included) switching out players all the time, even in the middle of matches. And let's not forget casual scrims either, where the players can decide to change settings or maps or players whenever they like. We've also had times when, right before a serious match was about to begin, we lost a player or two for some unforeseen circumstance and we had to get someone else in. How would these things work with a preset roster?

And then there are other issues that I see, but since I don't have experience with this feature yet, I can't say how much of an issue they actually are. For example, how strict is the time, how do the maps work (only two at a time is still a big issue), is it possible to do restarts, etc.

I only see this feature as being useful for consoles. It will be great for the competitive console community. But I don't see this replacing custom made servers on PC for matches.

[dvereb]

Re: Competitive Match Settings Added to Battlefield 3

We've also had times when, right before a serious match was about to begin, we lost a player or two for some unforeseen circumstance and we had to get someone else in. How would these things work with a preset roster?

I'll point to this video again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVZyBAwp8FY, specifically at 4:00. Like I said, I've yet to use the feature, but it seems as if you can invite people at any time before it starts and perhaps even have someone ready to go in case of a disconnect. As he says in the video, though, it's bugged and he isn't sure what it is actually used for. This would also allow you to just message someone and say "Join Up, So-and-so just lagged out!", as far as I can tell. I hope that this is the case.


Side note: wouldn't it make A LOT more sense to allow 3 maps - best of 3?

[CptainCrunch]

Re: Competitive Match Settings Added to Battlefield 3

You switched out people in the middle of the rounds? Man, when I was TWL you couldnt do that. If someone disconnected they could come back, but once the round started, that was it.

Also with the roster. Anyone could start in the game, but they had to be on the master roster for a period of time prior and there could be only so many on that roster.

It was a long time ago, CoD4 was the main game then.

[dvereb]

Re: Competitive Match Settings Added to Battlefield 3

You switched out people in the middle of the rounds? Man, when I was TWL you couldnt do that. If someone disconnected they could come back, but once the round started, that was it.

Yeah, CAL had substitution rules for Counter-Strike 1.6. Used it a couple of times and actually turned the game around for us! I suppose it's better to leave the functionality in there and let the league make the decision of whether or not to use it.

[Anarchy1]

Re: Competitive Match Settings Added to Battlefield 3

I played CAL in the CoD2 days, never TWL, so I don't know what it was like. But now, you set a general team roster that has a certain number of players (I think you get 20 for a 8 man ladder, but I'm not sure) and the only requirement is that the players who are in the TWL match are on that roster. My clan was small enough to have all the active players on the roster, so when we had more than 8 players on at a time, we would switch people out so everyone would get a chance to play, and it was fine as long as all the players were on that roster.

Disclaimer: I don't know whether this is actually allowed by TWL rules, but we've done it multiple times and no one said anything. Keep in mind that while TWL used to be a rather popular and serious league, it is now very casual and most clans just use it for extra practice before the important leagues like Alienware and CGL. No one really pays attention to the rules. We've played teams who bring in ringers who aren't on their roster and we've done the same, and once again, no one cared. We also often change the map from what TWL has assigned us randomly.