News: Battlefield 3 Questions with Karl Magnus Troedsson Vice President and General Manager of DICE

Earlier today Gamedigital had a question and answers session with Karl Magnus Troedsson Vice President and General Manager of DICE. The topic for those who weren't following on twitter was the upcoming game Battlefield 3. Here's what we learned;

Will the maps on console versions be scaled down to fit the reduced number of players?

Yes they will run on smaller versions of the same maps.

Are there any maps where no vehicles are present?

We actually have an ‘Infantry Only’ option for the player who wants to focus on this part of the experience.

Do you believe you have done all you can to max out the power on the Xbox 360 version of Battlefield 3?

We're definitely pushing the hardware much more than we did before with BFBC2.

Are there any plans to make another downloadable BF game, like you did with BF1942? That game was fantastic!

Glad you liked it! But sorry, can't comment on this.

What is your greatest achievement with Frostbite 2 and what will it mean for Battlefield 3?

It's how the engine enable us to deliver great visuals, stunning animations, awesome soundscape large scale maps and total destruction. It enables us to build our all out war!

Will we see a return of the Battlefield Commander Role from BF2?

We've decided to push down the responsibility of the commander to the squad leaders who can set orders and strategize. The entire team can use the different communication tools available, spot enemies etc.

What is your favourite Battlefield moment from the whole series?

So much to choose from, but I have to say that the intro movie to BF1942 is something that still sticks with me. 

Why have you included the prone position in Battlefield 3, and why wasn't it included in earlier versions?

Prone is back because the community wanted it so badly! It's a bit of technical challenge to get right with the animations, but more importantly it needs to be balanced with the other second-to-second gameplay

 
If you're in a jet, do you have an unfair advantage over people in tanks and on foot in multiplayer?

Of course not. Battlefield has been built around a rock-paper-scissor mentality - there's always something to counter the other. Anything from infantry carried Stingers to mobile AA vehicles will give pilots a challenge.

Have you ever had a real battlefield experience? If so when and where?

Several parts of our team spend time hunting down the right reference material during pre-productions. This means going to military exercises to capture audio or to shooting ranges to evaluate weapons handling.

Will the console games ever have the number of players available to PC gamers?

Consoles are not as powerful as today’s PCs. Running 64 player matches would mean scaling down things like vehicles, destruction etc. These are key pillars of what Battlefield is all about, so this makes it a no for us

Will there be expansions for #BF3 such as the Special Forces exp for BF2?

Yes, there will be PDLC post launch. We've announced the Back To Karkand pack but there will be more to come.

Last question - and one that a lot of people are asking . . .
When will the Beta come out? #GAMEfest #BF3

Soon, be patient! :) As soon as we can, we'll announce the date.

Interesting stuff! Hopefully more will be revealed at Gamefest this weekend! Those of you who haven't signed up yet, do so quickly! Thanks again to Gamedigital for holding this session and shedding light on a great looking game.