Battlefield 3: Close Quarters Expansion Gameplay Video
DICE/EA have released a new gameplay video from the upcoming Close Quarters expansion for Battlefield 3.
As the name suggests, the focus is all on smaller, tighter close quarters combat.
DICE developer Gustav Halling said that they have worked a lot on creating a whole new level of destruction for Close Quarters, with focus on lighting and shadows. For instance, how the lighting in a room changes when you shoot out the lamps.
Close Quarters will be released in June and cost you approx USD $15.
Later this year, DICE will release another expansion called Armored Kill, which will focus on armored combat and hardware, featuring the largest maps in Battlefield 3 yet. And then this winter, there’s End Game. Details about End Game will be posted as soon as we have them.
Some of you may be interested to know that expections of this expansion seem low, or mixed at best. The currently running poll on the official Battlefield blog says a lot:
A comment by “SenorFresco5321” sums it up pretty well, I think:
“Who is making your product decisions? Look at your own “Which are you most excited about?” poll results … your patch is taking so long that people want it more than your next DLC – people never prefer fixes to content! 15% want your next scheduled DLC, whereas 36% want the one after that! Players I’ve friended since BF2 have stopped playing. Hell, folks have even gone back to playing BFBC2. Get it together. Thank you”
Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) for Samsung Galaxy S II Rolling Out Now
The long-awaited Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) update for Samsung Galaxy S II has started rolling out today.
The update is already available via Kies in several countries (more than just the few mentioned in the press release) and is 216.09 MB in size.
Official press release info:
“Samsung Electronics announced the availability of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) software upgrade for GALAXY SII. The upgrade will begin in European countries including Poland, Hungary, Sweden, as well as Korea today and gradually roll out to other markets”
How To Determine Windows Edition
Sometimes you might want to check for which Windows “edition” is installed on a computer. Let’s say you’ve made an app that you want to be free for personal use, but want to force enterprises to pay a licensing fee if they want to use it in their environment.
A quick and dirty registry key check performed in the startup sequence of your application can be enough to find whether the Windows “edition” installed is Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate or Enterprise. Continue reading
Download Chrome for Android 4.0+ APK
Chrome for Android (Beta) has been released, but only for Android 4.0+ Ice Cream Sandwich, at least for the time being.
The download is available on the Android Market, but only in certain countries for now.
If you want to try Chrome on your 4.0 device but can’t find it in the Android Market, you can download the APK file and install it manually.
So, I’ve provided a mirror of the APK file for download:
Download the Chrome for Android APK
Please note that it requires a device running Android 4.0 or newer (aka ICS or Ice Cream Sandwich), plus an ARMv7 processor.
Hacking is Ruining Battlefield 3
After reading BF3Blog’s post about Battlefield 3 hacking escalating to such a level lately that it is totally ruining the game for everyone, I must agree.
Players actually busted a DICE/EA Battlelog moderator called “MrPopper777” who got caught USING cheats himself! It’s ridiculous.
Reportedly, DICE/EA didn’t do SQUAT. No apologies about it either. They were just trying to quiet it down as if nothing ever happened. For the sake of business, that may make sense, however it was all too obvious and a wrong move on their part, in a PR light.
PunkBuster is NOT the solution
PunkBuster is half-assed and clearly doesn’t do shit against the constantly updated and constantly improved hacks that the programmers are selling to the lame-ass, no-skill cheaters through subscription payments of $14,95 a month. (Discounts may apply if you pay for 3 or more in advance!)
Aww… Poor thing! Why don’t you just try again?
DICE/EA are merely wiping the STATS, not banning the ACCOUNTS of these hackers like they should be. Force them to BUY the whole game over and over if they insist on cheating!
With the way DICE/EA are treating the hacking issues today, the hackers can just go on to create a new character and keep doing it. It’s not good enough! Besides, DICE/EA are spending a damn long time investigating the reports of cheaters manually going through reports. Numerous cheating players at the top of the rankings have been there for months now.
I think they should take their players – their actual paying customers – seriously.
I will write no more posts about Battlefield 3 on this blog until DICE/EA take care of the hackers, and I won’t play the game any more, won’t buy any more DLCs for the game, and I urge everyone to do the same if you’re bothered too.
/End Rant
Edit march 16. 2012:
Started playing again and posting again about Battlefield 3, hoping the upcoming patch will do some good.
-Tommy