BattleField 4 BETA

[ArithonUK]

Yep, Alpha finished at the weekend and we're already looking forward to the BETA! With BF3 the BETA version was made "public" (basically a demo) at the end of September for two weeks back in 2011. I predict that DICE/EA will probably follow the same pattern with BF4. The game has a scheduled release date of 29 October 2013, so the public BETA will probably show up in the last week of September. My money is on Friday 27th with the "exclusive" BETA starting a week earlier on for Premium/Preorder/MoH:W account holders.

This time there will be no "console exclusive" release first, as the "next gen" doorstops won't be released by that point, which (I suspect) is why the first DLC (later in the year) will be "exclusive" to the XBone!

Will there be a second ALPHA test or closed BETA? Don't know, but if you find out, post it here!

From EA:-

1. When will the Battlefield 4 Exclusive Beta Access start?
There  is currently no official date announced for when Exclusive Beta Access  will open up to eligible players. Please stay tuned over at battlefield.com for more information as it becomes available.
 2. Do I have to pre-order the game to be able to get Exclusive Beta Access? How do I know if I have access?
Exclusive Beta Access can be obtained in the following ways:

•         Pre-order the Origin Digital Deluxe Edition of Battlefield 4 (PC only) through the Origin store.
  
•         Own Battlefield 3 Premium Membership.
  

Alternatively, if you are a registered owner of a Digital Deluxe or Limited Edition copy of Medal of Honor Warfighter, you will also gain access when it is available.

Below you can find information on how to check your Battlefield 4 Exclusive Beta Access eligibility:

•         Battlefield 4 Digital Deluxe Edition Pre-orders
  
•         If you pre-ordered the Origin Digital Deluxe Edition (PC only) of the game from a region that offers it, a 'Battlefield 4 beta' product icon will be attached to the entry for the pre-order. To confirm this please do the following:
  
  •                 In your Origin client, open your 'My Games' tab
  •                 Right click the product icon for Battlefield 4
    
  •                 Select 'Show Game Details'
  •                 Scroll down to the 'Expansions' section
  •                 The Battlefield 4 Beta icon will be visible.
    
    •                         Note, if you've If pre-ordered the Digital Deluxe edition of Battlefield 4, but  accidentally removed yourself from Exclusive Beta Access eligibility  while pre-ordering the Digital Deluxe edition, please contact  our Customer Support Team.
      
•         Battlefield 3 Premium Members
  
•         If you are a Battlefield 3 Premium Member on the PC, a 'Battlefield 4 beta' product icon will be attached to the product entry for Battlefield 3. To confirm this please do the following:
  
  •                 In your Origin client, open your 'My Games' tab
  •                 Right click the product icon for Battlefield 3
  •                 Select 'Show Game Details'
  •                 Scroll down to the 'Expansions' section
  •                 The Battlefield 4 Beta icon will be visible (see image below)
    
    •                        
      

Note that during the pre-order process you would have been given the opportunity to opt out by de-selecting the beta access option.
If  you did this by accident, or are confused about your status, confirm or  regain your eligibility by contacting our Customer Support Team.

More information about Battlefield 4 Exclusive Beta Access will be soon. Please continue to check for updates at Battlefield.com and ourBattlefield 4 information hub.

[Tutonic]

It still just looks like a BF3 map pack to me, with the addition of an admittedly nice looking commander mode.

What exactly is there to get excited about here? Surely its just more of the same?

Sent from my Galaxy S3 LTE.

[Chaosphere]

Although I think you are 100% right Tut, I am a sucker for shiny things. The more I think about it the more I think I am likely to give in and throw away my money on what I essentially already have!

[ArithonUK]

Back in March I made dire predictions (ever the optimist) about what BattleField 4 would (and would not) bring to the table.

So how are we progressing?

The stuff we didn't want to see

• "FaceBook for gun nuts" - STATUS CONFIRMED - they're still cooking on Battlelog
  
• Half the multi-player as DLC - STATUS PIMPED - Prepare for a fractured player base - First one arrives just weeks after release.
  
• Consoles as lead platform - STATUS UNKNOWN - the consoles won't be ready by October anyway.
  
• Single player - STATUS PIMPED - like a fish's bicycle, this pointless addition to a multi-player franchise is crying out to be made separate DLC, so a unified set of MP maps can be shipped with the game we ACTUALLY play.
  

The stuff we'd like to see

• In game VOIP not tied to friends list - STATUS UNKNOWN, although every indication is that they're going with BF3's worthless implementation.
  
• A commander - STATUS REINSTATED!! Party like it's 2005!
  
• Seven player classes - STATUS FAIL - still only four classes.
  
• Spawn on squad leader - STATUS FAIL - still able spawn on anybody. Who's squad leader? Why should we care?
  
• LAN support - STATUS NO SHOW- setting an expiry date on the game, after all the reason we can still play BF1942 and BF2 is because EA can't switch off the servers.
  
• Mod support - STATUS DENIED - In one breath, DICE are saying "we want to support the community" and in the next interview saying "no mod support".
  
• battle recorder - STATUS UNKNOWN - holding my breath....
  
• spectator mode - STATUS REINSTATED Back to the future, 2002 style!
  

So. Well then. Still no incentive to pre-order.

[DuVeL]

I'm still wondering about a few things:

-COOP-mode, how will this going to be in BF4. Can you still unlock good guns with it? I liked it in BF3. Also doing the missions with people who haven't played them and talk them through.
-In BF2 you had multiple classes. Does this mean a Resupply guy can take down the Commanders-assets and keep resupplying himself? Or can't you take the assets down?
-BF2 vs BF3. In BF2 planes had to get back to their own base to get resupplied. In BF3, wait a few seconds and everything is full again. BF2 was great with that but that again, carpet-bombs could go insane on a kill streak.

@Tut, due to dMw I started playing the Battlefieldseries and I'm still liking them. It started for me when flying around in a chopper or driving with a car with the music turned on. :flirty:

[video=youtube;jI8HbJLaTmY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI8HbJLaTmY[/video]

[Tutonic]

Fairly sure I read somewhere that co-op has been axed from BF4.

[ArithonUK]

I'm still wondering about a few things:

-COOP-mode, how will this going to be in BF4. Can you still unlock good guns with it? I liked it in BF3. Also doing the missions with people who haven't played them and talk them through.
-In BF2 you had multiple classes. Does this mean a Resupply guy can take down the Commanders-assets and keep resupplying himself? Or can't you take the assets down?
-BF2 vs BF3. In BF2 planes had to get back to their own base to get resupplied. In BF3, wait a few seconds and everything is full again. BF2 was great with that but that again, carpet-bombs could go insane on a kill streak.

I can't tell you anything from the Alpha (non-disclosure's a bitch), but I can point you at the information that is publicly available elsewhere.

Co-Op in the single player is a confirmed "no".
Classes are the same as BF3, but with minor changes.

Class changes
-Recon gets C4 now instead of support
-Support now gets XM-25 grenade launcher (air burst ammo)

Regen health in players and vehicles is confirmed and seems to be the same, but slower for vehicles - cannot find confirmation though, just forum speculation on BattleLog.

[kregoron]

Really looking forward to BF4, i kinda scraped BF3 at some point as it became rather dull. Hopefully BF4 will reawaken the interest, else its back to BC2

[Chaosphere]

"-Recon gets C4 now instead of support "

Well that is all I will be doing then.

[Sneakytiger]

think i'll be waiting for a premium edition to be released so i wont have to buy multiple standalone expansions

[Chaosphere]

Yes, I think if I buy it at or near release, I will want to get whatever version means I don't have to faf around paying more later on...

[ArithonUK]

think i'll be waiting for a premium edition to be released so i wont have to buy multiple standalone expansions

Talking to GhostMjr yesterday, I note that the best price for BF4 pre-order (including first DLC "China Rising") is £29.99 and the expected price of each DLC (if the same as BF3) will be £11.99. There will be five DLC's all together. So the basic game with one DLC @ £29.99 + 4 x £11.99 = £77.95. However, "Premium" which is not yet available is expected to retail at £54.99, so if you buy Premium, you'll pay (best case) £29.99 + £54.99 = £84.98 - £7.03 more and you'll pay for "China Rising" twice.

You have until October 29th to decide....

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2348[/ATTACH]

BETA starts October 1st.

An Origin update this evening is now listing the official RRP for Premium as £39.99 so the basic game + Premium is £69.98 in total - £7.95 cheaper than the base game + 4 x DLCs.

http://www.origin.com/en-gb/store/buy/battlefield-4/pc-download/addon/battlefield-4-premium

[TeaLeaf]

Talk about a cash cow, unbelievable..... :sad:

[ArithonUK]

DICE announced that the BETA is 64-bit only.

So have your Win7 x64 and Win8 x64 at the ready, and those still on XP can party like it's 2002, but they can't run BF4!

Oh, and they also said that pre-loading starts tomorrow (28th September) so even those with slow broadband can get a look-in!

[TheDvEight]

So if I want the game and the dlc what do I get? I'm confused with the variations of the game, premium, deluxe and what ever else EA comes up with!

.DickDastardly. sent from a galaxy far... far away