BF3

[ExternalError]

so just thought id say I have been invited to alpha test the new battle field heres the email I got.

Hi xxxxxxxxx,

As one of our valued and trusted Battlefield players, we are happy to invite you to participate in the Battlefield 3 Alpha Trial. All the instructions you need to join are printed below.

We are inviting you specifically because we think you have a great interest in the Battlefield series, and because we think you understand the technical issues that might arise this early in a game's development cycle.

The purpose of the Battlefield 3 Alpha Trial is to do a number of server-related tests in preparation for game launch, including load testing our back-end. We are also looking to you to provide us with any feedback on the entire Alpha Trial experience.

Please note that this is not the Open Beta due in September, it's not the Beta promised to buyers of Medal of Honorâ„¢ Limited Edition and this is not a public demo. This is a highly tech-focused Alpha Trial that does not represent final quality of the game. Performance at this early stage of development will potentially be choppy and far from optimal, and we will bring the servers down at our leisure if needed. There will be periods of downtime and periods when we run tests that will negatively affect the performance on the Alpha Trial servers (leading to lag and rubber banding, etc.).

The available slots are limited, so make sure to redeem your unique Alpha Trial code before they run out (see instructions below).

If you choose to join this Alpha Trial, please do not publically post information, images, videos or your impressions of it. If you have any questions or concerns, please leave your feedback directly to us at DICE in the closed Alpha Trial forum we have set up specifically for this purpose.

The Battlefield 3 team and I here at DICE are looking forward to your participation.

Cheers,

Patrick Bach
Executive Producer, Battlefield 3
DICE

[NoCry]

Aye, got this too (although mine was in French which is a little annoying).

[Aracher]

I am in it as well however my laptop won't run it so I'll just make sure I get it so when I get my new PC I can play it.

[NoCry]

just tried it on my laptop at work - not bad actually but only the mousepad so I did not fare well!

[Aracher]

what spec is your laptop? What i mean is it well optimized?

[NoCry]

second generation m11X. I got the good one; Subbeh got the crap;)

[Strod]

I didn't want to say anything, but I may have received this a while back myself.

[Subb]

second generation m11X. I got the good one; Subbeh got the crap;)

Actually, mine's okay when the HDD isn't dying

[Aracher]

Don't like the launch system. I have to upgrade my drivers to play kinda annoying but not like I can play it anyway with my hand still in a cast.

[Jeyk]

I'm Veteran Level 7, and I got in without an email by simply going to the Alpha site.  Installing on Origin now!

https://bf3alpha.battlefield.com/index.php?id=1

If you have other games from the BF series, make sure you enter them here (under the "My Soldier" tab, select "Veteran", and enter information for the appropriate game):

http://www.battlefieldbadcompany2.com/veteran

Good luck!

[Revalis]

Confirmed.  To no surprise, I think.
http://kotaku.com/5828309/you-cant-buy-battlefield-3-on-steam%5C

[likwidtek]

oh boy.  yet ANOTHER game I won't buy.  blah.

[Saint]

Yet you will buy swtor no problem?

[likwidtek]

I feel like MMOs are different.  Only until recently have I purchased an MMO through Steam.  I almost expect that an MMO has its own delivery system for patches and what not.  I purchased rift and DCUO through steam and they worked really well but I was honestly surprised they were even there.

This kind of leads up to another thing I guess.  Am I going to be required to use Origin?

[Da6onet]

I think what this is really going to lead to is the need for a game management service that doesn't also deliver the content. In a way Steam already allows you kind of do this by adding "non-Steam" games to your game library and launching from there so you have the one-stop launcher and your friends can see what you're playing. If Origin behaves like Steam, even though the application is required to be open when you launch the game, you should be able to, in theory, link some executable to Steam as a non-steam game. When I tried launching UT2004 without steam, it force launched Steam, but I could still technically open the file without using steam. This isn't always the case though, when I tried it with Alien Swarm, in the game itself said "No Steam" and was unplayable, though once I opened Steam, I could still launch the game directly from the file directory.

But I digress... I eventually do see a application that would work with whatever content delivery program you used and consolidate it into a clean interface. Of course this all means we need more RAM, but that's cheap these days anyway.