Battlefield 4's Battlelog is a Seamless Second Screen Experience

[Steven Bogos]

Battlefield 4's Battlelog is a Seamless Second Screen Experience

DICE want's Battlefield 4's Battlelog to be "super integral" to the game itself.

PC gamers should be pretty familiar with the Battlelog feature of Battlefield 3, essentially a facebook-style social media website that serves as a hub for Battlefield 3 player's stats, loadouts, server browser and friends. DICE plans to expand on the Battlelog for Battlefield 4, making it a seamless second screen experience that is "more than something just the PC gamers can enjoy."

"People have their smartphones, they have their tablets, they have their computers next to them while they are playing," says Oskar Gabrielson, Battlelog producer, "and we want to create the Battlefield which can incorporate all these devices into the experience."

The new Battlelog will let you change your loadout in real time, any time, whether you are on the bus on the way home from work, or if you've just died in-game and want to quickly switch out a weapon.

Another new feature is the ability to hook up your tablet to the game client, so when you are playing it functions as a minimap. You can even set attack points and orders by tapping them on the tablet.

If you want to find another server, you wan't have to quit your current one to go back to the server browser. You can just look one up on your smartphone or tablet, press join, and your game client will seamlessly join the new server.

Lastly, the new Battlelog adds the ability to create custom challenges called "Missions," (for example, who is the best tank killer), which you can compete for with your friends, as well as strangers in a specific area based on "Geoleaderboards."

Source: DICE [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB3LFY1sp8Q]


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[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

while this is cool, i wish it instead would allow 2 screen co op better for pc, i have a nice bigass tv screen hooked up to my tower that would be thrilled to have my brother(s)/friends/family/etc... being able to play with me, at least on the campaign if not online. I'd rather have that 100x over the "battlelog". so color me "meh" on this, as it neither disinterested me or caused interest.

 

[Easton Dark]

Like... what? You know how other games let you change your loadout? You hit a button and go to a menu where you can change your loadout.

Will people not be able to wait until they're home and playing to want to change the guns they aren't even using at the moment?

I get that companies want to make games a service rather than a product but jeez.

 

[dharmaBum0]

"People have their smartphones, they have their tablets, they have their computers next to them while they are playing," says Oskar Gabrielson, Battlelog producer, "and we want to create the Battlefield which can incorporate all these devices into the experience."

Exactly; when my Battlelog was crashing, hanging, or otherwise arbitrarily sucking, all I could think was "What would really make this excruciating experience complete would be to incorporate my entire electronics collection into this perverted interface."

 

[Smooth Operator]

Translated as "Look our web guys are really cheap so there is half your game", I guess it's one way to save development money... but if I was still into Battlefield I'd be mighty pissed paying full price for chop shop nonsense.

 

[Galen Marek]

Exactly; when my Battlelog was crashing, hanging, or otherwise arbitrarily sucking, all I could think was "What would really make this excruciating experience complete would be to incorporate my entire electronics collection into this perverted interface."

I felt the same as you.

Also, "wan't" to fix this error, but I won't

 

[Yuuki]

...But DICE still refuse to build the server browser into the actual game, when that's all people have been wanting. We'll still have to launch the game via a web browser every time we join a server.

It took over a YEAR AND A HALF for DICE to slowly cut-down the massive list of errors Battlelog could fling at us (accompanied by game crashes/disconnects), as if to constantly remind us "this is what you get for playing on PC lolololol fuckers".

If we see a repeat of that in BF4, I'll be pissed. This is why I'm going to wait at least 3-4 days after release before buying the game.

Because we saw what happened with SimCity, such a huge number of people pre-ordered it (or bought it on release day) that EA currently consider SimCity a success thanks to their blind sheep consumers. [http://www.gamezone.com/news/2013/07/24/ea-president-simcity-is-a-success]

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Another pointless feature in another modern military shooter. If this is the best they can do then it's another shitty game that I'm going to pass. Seriously, fuck modern military shooters.

 

[Lee Quitt]

Another shitty game? Did you even play BF3? I seriously doubt it. Pointless? Not if you have a second screen, witch many people do, including myself. Another modern military shooter? I haven't played a mulitplayer shooter as good as BF3 since BF2, and that was bloody years ago.

 

[Omeene]

I loved Battlefield 3, it was a very enjoyable multiplayer experience for me. However, if they are still going use Battlelog instead of an actual ingame server browser, this will be a complete pass for me. BF3's Battlelog was the worst setup I ever used, and it did not come anywhere near to being better than an ingame option. It was laggy, crashy, and outrageously buggy. So much so, that it made me quit playing the game. It completely ruined the game, and its "new features", are stuff that could've been ingame. All of it could've been ingame and it would've worked so much better. The external browser system is not the way to go, DICE.

I have nothing to say about the actual tablet/second-screen features. I don't have one, so I really can't have an opinion on how useful it would be. I'm not sure how useful using it as a minimap/to give orders will be, given it will remove your focus from the primary screen. If there is a "Tab to open map, click to lay down orders" system, I don't see why the tablet would be better than that. Maybe I'm just not a creative enough multitasker...

 

[KungFuJazzHands]

I'm one of those unlucky few who are still experiencing consistent server crashes every time I try to play BF3 these days, and I'm convinced that Battlelog is causing them. Whether that's true or not, Battlelog is still an unnecessary bloated mess, and I'm pretty disappointed that DICE have decided to include it with BF4.

Guess it's not really a big deal, because I'm not buying BF4 anyway. EA and DICE can go suck a choad.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Another shitty game? Did you even play BF3? I seriously doubt it. Pointless? Not if you have a second screen, witch many people do, including myself. Another modern military shooter? I haven't played a mulitplayer shooter as good as BF3 since BF2, and that was bloody years ago.

I played beta for a few hours. I get bored of games like that easily. And not having a server browser in the actual game didn't help.

 

[Vivi22]

Pointless? Not if you have a second screen, witch many people do, including myself.

A second screen which players have to look away from the main screen to use is always going to be less useful than just doing things on the main screen.

 

[Jamous]

Now, this is pretty cool. The main reason it's pretty cool is because it can add a lot to the experience but ISN'T NECESSARY. You can play just as well without it, and very little is locked out if you don't. Maybe I don't understand it all that well but the only thing I can see that would actually give me an advantage would be the ability to change my loadouts in game to adapt to situations.

 

[Metalrocks]

as long you are not forced that you need any of the devices to play the game, i still get the game. battle log is actually a well thought out system once you are familiar with it.
if they want to make it better for phone users, well, fine for them i guess, but dont force me to get one of these things so that i can play the game.

 

[Thedutchjelle]

I don't have a tablet, I don't have a phone (not one that is capable of anything like this anyway, it's from 2008) and I don't have a second monitor.

Only the mission thing was appealing to me. The rest? Useless.

 

[OCAdam]

Another new feature is the ability to hook up your tablet to the game client, so when you are playing it functions as a minimap. You can even set attack points and orders by tapping them on the tablet.

This is an actually useful feature. While I've never played any of the BF games admittedly, I HAVE played the ArmA games, and trying to use the map at all and really time consuming due to map loading times and awkward controls (then again, there are a lot of awkward controls in ArmA2). Instead of an in-game map that you have to look at, having a quick access to a secondary touch screen could actually be quite useful.

Setting up waypoints and such for your side or just fireteam with something that's a bit more intuitive does sound like a nice idea in theory. The rest with the Battlelog though? Not so much.

 

[Longstreet]

This is just innovation for the sake of having something to innovate.

And absolutely bloody pointless.

The only reason i use battlelog is because i need to use it to join a server. Thats it. Maybe sometimes chat with a guy or two on my friends list.

Why would i want to have battlelog on my tablet to change my loadout when i can do that in game and use what i feel like at that moment. If i am on the bus and think; "the PP-19 would be a nice gun for a change" and i change it. Chances are i changed my mind when i got home and use a different gun.

also, why should i use a tablet to give commands. I believe that commander mode is just for on a tablet (but could be wrong, hevent read up on stuff in a while) But i still prefer the old, point by guy in a random direction and press the Q button method.

 

[Hawk of Battle]

I don't have a tablet, I don't have a phone (not one that is capable of anything like this anyway, it's from 2008) and I don't have a second monitor.

Only the mission thing was appealing to me. The rest? Useless.

Yeah, likewise.

And even if I did have a tablet to use as a minimap (what, can't we just push a button to have a map overlay on the main screen any more?) I'd still have nowhere to put it where I could see it whilst playing.

 

[Pickles]

[quote post="7.823319.19930745"]making it a seamless second screen experience that is "more than something just the PC gamers can enjoy."[/quote]

Thats making a hell of an assumption on whether or not we enjoyed it in the first place.
I would have stuck with it way longer if I didn't have to play the game through a facebook imitation.

If they can actually make features for a second screen that serve a purpose that would be great though. The only game I've played that usefully incorporated dual screens is Supreme Commander.