Axlerod

http://whatculture.com/gaming/8-things-nobody-wants-to-admit-about-battlefield-1 8 Things Nobody Wants To Admit About Battlefield 1 It's like Star Wars Battlefront all over again.

LOL

WOW DICE must have had a rough weekend. They have all hands on deck answering questions. Even Tiggr (Dave Siriland). Twitter, forums, all of them. The must have gotten the cloak of secrecy lifted. They just told the PS4 pro compalints to give them a video because DICE does not see anything broken. If you want questions answered, today seems to be the day to ask.

Yeah but at least they are letting us know they are having a meeting about improvements. This is a step forward.

OK it's on!

Huge difference. Everything looks so much better with that adjustment. Ty it guys, you won't regret it.

GATOR, ALI Coming Hasson has responded to your open letter post. Page 4. https://forums.battlefield.com/en-us/discussion/61684/an-open-letter-to-alexander-hassoon-rent-a-server-producer/p4

Guys I'm on latest nvidia driver, switch to auto wait 20 seconds then back to ultra. Fixed the downgraded look of bf1. It does work. Additionally, These steps can be taken to force the workaround 1- Open battlefield 1 in My Documents 2- Open Settings folder 3- Delete everything, EXCEPT PROFSAVE and PROSAVE_backup, these files is your campaign gameplay and has nothing to do. 4- Enter the game 5- set the quality to ultra, or whatever you had before Additionally, Changing the settings to Auto prior to joining a server from the main menu, And then Joining a server with the settings on Auto and then changing to Ultra upon joining also can force the workaround.

Look on the response, it is like he does not even know it's broken.

Pre-patch: http://fraghero.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/di1XS9H.jpg Post-patch: http://fraghero.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/yB517GL-2.jpg Fans have commented on various technical and graphical features and issues that have been omitted from the post-patch version of the game. Among these, they name: Tessellation Anisotropic filtering and textures Lower quality of decoration and terrain detail Shadow resolution and the draw distance of shadows have been lowered There’s a possibility that EA are optimising the game for a better resolution and frame-rate. But with so many adjustments that are available for PC gamers, EA should not need to do this.

In server browser, #1 shows regular and not hardcore

Battlefield 1 just got a fall update, and PS4 and PC players are noticing some pretty nasty side effects. Is a deliberate graphics downgrade causing lower framerates and poorer texture detail? DICE recently responded to fan outcry via Twitter. Discussion of the graphics downgrade first began when the update went live earlier this week, and now it’s reached a reasonably high level of fervor. An official forum thread documenting the issue was started on Tuesday, and the conversation has since swelled to 24 pages with hundreds of replies and comparison screenshots. As seen in the undoctored images below, texture detail and shadows have clearly been altered in some way. This phenomenon appears to be identical across, PS4, PS4 Pro and PC and is made worse by FPS drops and flickering in certain areas. It was DICE producer David Sirland who was first approached by the Battlefield 1 community about the problem. While Sirland was quick to say “graphics has not been downgraded” he did mention that certain tweaks to texture pools have been made to ensure that performance stays pristine over time. Could these changes correlate to why graphics detail appears reduced? It’s possible. He notes that “lower res version can be loaded at a specific time, for instance.” As for the flickering and FPS problems, however, those reportedly have nothing to do with any texture downgrades that PS4 and PC players may notice. “It’s not [caused by] the same thing,” he clarified. “If there are performance issues there’s something else going on outside of that.” It’s added that any rendering issues with the update are considered a “top priority” for the studio and that PC shortcomings may stem from the latest NVIDIA drivers. Knowing the source of the frustration can only do so much, however, as many of Battlefield 1’s diehard fans refer to the game as “unplayable” compared to what it was before. Shooters are a genre based largely on heightened precision and accuracy. That standard can be exceptionally difficult to maintain with low framerates and graphical glitches in tow. PS4 Pro and PC owners are inclined to take pride in performance enough to be impacted by even the slightest of negative adjustments. Funnily enough, however, veteran franchise players were keen to note that Battlefield 4 visuals were reworked after a patch in 2014. Community members pointed out the flaws then too, but the supposed “bug” was never addressed. Framerates and flicker can always be improved, but will DICE opt to keep the toned-down textures this time too? The history is certainly there to suggest it. Battlefield 1 ’s latest update ushered in a ton of changes including a fix for dysfunctional squad leaders, weapon balance and more. Beyond these hiccups, the adjustments have generally been appreciated.

https://www.vg247.com/2016/10/31/is-it-finally-time-to-accept-the-end-of-battlefields-dominance-on-pc/

The Less Obvious Reason 'Titanfall 2' Might Be Failing: Presumed Xbox One Exclusivity It’s unclear what the future holds for Titanfall 2, Respawn’s new critically acclaimed shooter that has so far underperformed sales expectations dramatically, causing EA’s shares to slide. While EA has been playing up the game’s warm reception while dodging questions about sales, it’s unclear what’s next for the series. When Respawn’s CEO Vince Zampella was asked about the situation, while sitting next to an EA rep during a Glixel interview, we got this fantastic exchange: GLIXEL: Will you make another Titanfall game? ZAMPELLA: We don’t know yet. The game is, critically, a huge success. We’re really happy with all the reviews and the positive sentiment. Sales, it’s too early to tell. We’d definitely like to tell more of the story and the universe. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that we’ll explore more of it. EA might have announced more. Devin? EA PUBLICIST DEVIN BENNETT: What we’ve said is we’re committed to the franchise. ZAMPELLA: So, whatever the Frack that means. So the mood around the game seems to be a bit…frosty, and everyone’s been trying to dissect exactly what went wrong, and why such an acclaimed game can be performing so terribly. The obvious answer is that the release date was terrible, with the still-fledgling franchise being put up not only against every other heavy hitter in the fall from Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare to Skyrim Special Edition, but also EA’s own Battlefield 1, which released just a week before Titanfall 2 dropped, vacuuming up money from potential customers. I fully believe that first and foremost this has been the major problem with Titanfall’s sales woes, but it occurred to me yesterday that there may have been another unique communication problem here. http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2016/11/18/the-less-obvious-reason-titanfall-2-might-be-failing-presumed-xbox-one-exclusivity/#442801b97f71 Recommended by Forbes You Can Pry Watch Dogs 2's Guns From Its Cold, Dead Hands Will Mewtwo Absolutely Break 'Pokémon GO?' ADPVoice: How To (Legally) Use Social Media To Recruit 'Hearthstone's Heroic Tavern Brawl Is Indeed The Gold Vacuum That Was Prop... Most Popular This game is available for $30 already at walmart for consoles.

http://d3d3lnbhexbhbg9iamvjdhmuy29t.g00.gamerevolution.com/g00/2_d3d3LmdhbWVyZXZvbHV0aW9uLmNvbQ%3D%3D_/TU9SRVBIRVVTMiRodHRwczovL3d3dy5wYXlwYWxvYmplY3RzLmNvbS9kaWdpdGFsYXNzZXRzL2Mvd2Vic2l0ZS9tYXJrZXRpbmcvZ2xvYmFsL3NoYXJlZC9nbG9iYWwvbWVkaWEtcmVzb3VyY2VzL2RvY3VtZW50cy9wYXlwYWwtdXMtZ2FtaW5nLWFuZC1lYm9va3Mtc3R1ZHkucGRm_$/$/$/$/$/$/$/$/$/$/$

The global video game industry is exploding in popularity. Companies such as ESPN, Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts have formed their own e-sports divisions in recent months, and the gaming market exceeds $90 billion, up 9 percent in the last year. It is bigger than the movie industry and predicted to expand with new emerging platforms like VR. Greylock investment partner Josh Elman talked to Discord CEO Jason Citron about the e-sports industry, lessons learned from pivoting, viral growth and why the PC still matters for gamers. When Jason and his team began working on Discord, the product initially grew moderately via word of mouth, but it wasn’t taking off. To reach the gaming community, the team had to find the right channel to connect to their core customer base: Reddit and Twitch. They built a Twitch integration, which allowed gamers to talk about Discord on stream and invite others in the community to join. They also shared their product on gaming subreddits. Eventually, Discord had more than 2 million people joining the service a month. Many great tech products like Instagram, Slack and Nextdoor are the result of a pivot, and almost always, these choices are difficult and entrepreneurs have to make a tough call with a heavy weight on their shoulders. As daunting as this decision can be, Jason advises that founders should address a pivot head on. On a personal level, founders have to fully acknowledge that something they care deeply about is not working. With investors, it’s best to be honest and transparent, he advised. Jason was very transparent with his investors about metrics and traction of their game, even before the pivot. So, when he broke the news to his board, they were supportive and helped him work through the process of figuring out what to do next. For years, critics have prophesied the slow decline of the PC. However, PC gaming still makes up a little more one-third of the market. Just a few years ago, Citron bet that gaming would make a big shift from consoles and PCs to mobile when he created Fates Forever. Today, Citron feels differently. “PC is vibrant, it’s thriving. I spend most of my gaming time there. People have been calling the death of the PC for a very long time and it’s just kicking ass.” https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/02/discord-chief-executive-on-distribution-and-the-importance-of-the-pc-in-gaming/

Call of Duty Steam player base down sharply Infinite Warfare's opening weekend sees peak player counts one-quarter of those posted last year by Black Ops III The Call of Duty franchise may be showing signs of fatigue. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare launched last Friday, and as previously reported, unit sales of the game at UK retailers were down 48.4% compared to last year's Call of Duty: Black Ops III. The game's downloadable prospects might not shape up much better, as tracking site GitHyphas pointed out that Infinite Warfare showed a similarly dramatic drop in the number of Steam users playing the game on opening weekend. According to the site, Infinite Warfare peaked with around 15,280 players per hour on Steam during its launch weekend, less than 24% of the 63,681 players per hour Black Ops III managed in the same post-launch time frame. Infinite Warfare is also proving to be a less popular option for Twitch users, as it peaked with about 101,000 viewers, compared to Black Ops III's 190,000. Those numbers may be negatively impacted by a handful of factors beyond simple demand for the game. First, the PC version of Infinite Warfare may be a less popular option due to a split playerbase, as customers who purchase the game through the Windows Store are unable to play against those who purchase the game through Steam. Second, the Legacy Edition and Deluxe Edition of Infinite Warfare come with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, a stand-alone remake of the original Modern Warfare, and it's unclear if GitHyp's numbers take into account people playing that version of the game instead of Infinite Warfare. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-11-08-call-of-duty-steam-player-base-down-sharply

http://gfxspeak.com/2016/11/16/balance-power-gaming/ Pretty interesting article. Look as see what gamers play on.

Worldwide digital games market: September 2016 October 27th, 2016 | Permalink Total digital games revenue rose in September by 5% from 2015 to $6.2 billion. Mobile continues to enjoy year-over-year growth, along with Free-to-play MMO. Subscribers to the SuperData Arcade have access to detailed performance data on the world’s most popular digital games across PC, console and mobile. Destiny highlights the importance of additional content releases for AAA titles. Over the past few years, AAA console publishers have become increasingly dependent on additional content releases to extend the lifecycle for major titles. Activision Blizzard has had the greatest success perfecting this formula with heavyweight franchise Call of Duty. Since April 2016, Call of Duty: Black Ops’ additional content revenue has never dipped below 80% of total digital revenue. This September, Activision Blizzard demonstrated their mastery over the monetization technique with a newer franchise: After delaying the release of Destiny II, Activision instead switched tactics and released the Rise of Iron expansion instead. As a result, the title’s revenue sky-rocketed from $7.2 million to $59.1 from August to September 2016, putting Destiny at the top of console rankings. September’s $493 million worldwide console market is already a competitive battleground for major AAA publishers, but the growing number of legacy franchises with large bundles of additional content released between sequels will make the platform even more competitive and inhospitable for newcomers this holiday season. Franchises like Destiny and Call of Duty can not only charge a premium upfront price, but continue to take the lion’s share of console spending for months or even years. New Twitch features may change how eSports and gaming video content are monetized. The gaming video content segment has seen significant growth over the past year. However, effective monetization continues to be an issue. Since late September, Twitch has harnessed Amazon’s resources (the former was acquired in 2014 for $970 million in cash) to release a swath of new features aimed getting online viewers to spend more while watching others play games competitively and casually. Firstly, Twitch is encouraging users to directly monetize via subscriptions tied to Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime subscriptions now come with automatic access to a feature called Twitch Prime, which includes free access to bonus in-game features, discounts on newly released physical games and a free subscription to a new streamer each month. By encouraging users to link their Twitch Accounts to their Amazon Prime Accounts, Amazon is paving the way to double Twitch subscription revenue. Secondly, Twitch recently rolled out a new feature called “cheering.” Users can now acquire a virtual currency called “bits” by watching ads or paying directly for them. While this feature is new to Twitch, Chinese streaming platforms like Douyu have already successfully monetized it: viewers frequently gift hundreds of dollars worth of emotes in a few minutes. Twitch will take a 30-40% cut of all revenue donated in this way, which will help push total donation revenue for gaming video content up past $1 billion worldwide in 2017E. Finally, during Twitchcon Amazon Game Studios announced plans for an additional virtual currency known as Stream+. Twitch wants to increase the excitement of viewing live-streamed eSports by allowing viewers to make real-time bets on gameplay. Breakaway, a multiplayer brawler developed by Double Helix Studios (acquired by Amazon in 2014) will have Stream+ functionality built-in from the ground up. If Twitch can navigate the tricky legal regulations surrounding virtual betting, they not only will be able to increase the excitement of live-events but may also open a new channel for monetizing eSports. A flood of sports investment will help eSports up its sponsorship game. As the hype surrounding the $892 million eSports market has grown, investment is picking up from an interesting source – traditional sports franchises and owners. September and October saw a wave of investments and acquisitions: The NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers acquired both Team Dignitas and Apex Gaming, uniting them under the banner of Team Dignitas; aXiomatic, an eSports ownership company led by the owners of the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Dodgers, picked up a controlling stake in Team Liquid; Paris’ Saint-Germain football club scooped up European League of Legends team Team Huma; Memphis Grizzlies owner Stephen Kaplan also increased his stake in the Immortals; and former NBA star and current star of the Chinese Basketball Association Stephon Xavier Marbury sparked a storm on Chinese social media after publicly announcing plans to start his own eSports team. More important than the size of these investments are the partnerships they provide to grow the scope of eSports sponsorships. For eSports to develop into the powerhouse game companies and teams are hoping for, it will need a sizable foundation of sponsorship revenue. As a young industry, eSports still has not established the infrastructure needed to drastically increase sponsorships, but this will change with veteran leaders from traditional sports at the helm. There is likely to be an increase in mainstream sponsorships in the near future, and eSports sponsorship revenue is forecasted to grow significantly by next year. PSVR rolls out with a bang. Sony’s PlayStation VR finally launched on October 13. Even though preorders of the headset already sold out months in advance, the launch was still a success. Gamestop reported that PSVR sold out faster than any other hardware in the company’s history. Over 50K units were sold in Japan during launch week, and the headset also sold out on Amazon. Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Europe President Jim Ryan recently commented that headset pre-orders were in the “many hundreds of thousands,” with Sony scrambling to manufacture more hardware to meet demand. Sony hit the sweet-spot with consumers in terms of pricing, hardware requirements and performance. While not as powerful as the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, PSVR is nearly half the price and does not require a high-end PC. On the other hand, it significantly outperforms mobile rival Samsung Gear since it plugs into the PlayStation 4. Although PSVR hardware itself was well-received by critics and consumers, its bundled software failed to impress. Sony is committed to bringing AAA titles to its VR platform over next year but PSVR is ultimately facing the same chicken-and-egg problem as the Vive and Rift. Top-notch virtual reality games need to be built specifically with VR in mind, but many AAA publishers are unwilling to invest in titles before the hardware becomes more popular with consumers. Top Grossing Mobile Games by Revenue, September 2016 1Pokemon GoNiantic 2Monster StrikeMixi 3Clash RoyaleSupercell 4Mobile StrikeEpic War 5Game of War: Fire AgeMachine Zone Top Grossing PC DLC Games by Revenue, September 2016 1OverwatchActivision Blizzard 2Counter-Strike: Global OffensiveValve 3MinecraftMicrosoft 4Guild Wars 2NCSOFT 5FIFA 17EA Top Grossing Free-to-play MMO Games by Revenue, September 2016 1League of LegendsTencent 2CrossfireNeowiz Games 3Dungeon Fighter OnlineNexon 4World of TanksWargaming 5Dota 2Valve Top Grossing Pay-to-play MMO Games by Revenue, September 2016 1World of WarcraftActivision Blizzard 2Fantasy Westward Journey Online IINetEase 3Lineage INCSOFT 4Star Wars: The Old RepublicElectronic Arts 5Tera OnlineEn Masse Top Grossing Social Games by Revenue, September 2016 1SlotomaniaCaesars Entertainment 2DoubleDown CasinoIGT 3Candy Crush SagaActivision Blizzard 4FarmVille 2Zynga 5Jackpot Party Casino —SlotsSlotomania Top Grossing Console Games by Revenue, September 2016 1DestinyActivision Blizzard 2FIFA 17Electronic Arts 3Call of Duty Black Ops IIIActivision Blizzard 4Grand Theft Auto VTake Two 5NBA 2K17Take Two

Here is mine - https://forums.battlefield.com/en-us/discussion/61820/my-letter-back-to-alexander-coming-soon-hasson-from-a-hardcore-pc-player/p1?new=1 Hi, My name is Alexander Hassoon and I’m the Producer on the Rent-a-Server program in Battlefield 1. I wanted to take some time to talk to you about what we have in store for it in in the near future. Firstly, I need to cover some history! In previous Battlefield titles, Rent-a-Server was handled in-game on console by EA while PC was handled outside the game client by third-party providers. This setup gave PC server admins a large amount of control on the game server but often at the cost of the overall player experience. The console server admins had very little control, but the player experience was very similar to playing on official servers. We all remember how as a player you would end up on a server that did not allow certainly gameplay elements and you would be kicked or banned immediately by accidentally using one of the restricted items! If I wanted the console experience, I would have bought a console for $500 instead of spending $2500 on a gaming rig. That is the great experince about gaming on PC, The customizations that are available plus better sound quality and graphics. If I don't like the experience in one server, I can choose to go play in another server to more my liking. Most servers clearly placed there rule sets for all to read. It was those banned and kicked players trying to ruin the experience and not the other way around. Players need to learn to read what they are joining first. Suffer the consequences second. Ignorantia juris non excusat or ignorantia legis neminem excusat (Latin for "ignorance of the law excuses not" and "ignorance of law excuses no one" respectively) is a legal principle holding that a person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating that law merely because he or she was unaware of its content. So the challenge we set to ourselves at DICE was as follows - How can we increase admin control levels while not sacrificing the player experience? by ruining the PC experience We started by implementing PC Rent-a-Server to the Battlefield 1 game client with the release of the Nov 15 patch. It was a very tough call to make but we felt it had to be done to offer a consistent experience for all players and allowed us control of the admin options there are. You can rent it but you can not control it. Play it the DICE way or not at all. We added a lot of customization options that were not natively available in the game client before, features such as Class Restrictions, Weapon Class Restriction and Explosives Restrictions. Server admins in Battlefield 1 can now control all these options while the players won’t be punished for using them by mistake. And made it impossible for anyone to find the server! So what does the future hold for the Rent-a-Server program in Battlefield 1? Very short game life span except for trolls that want to make racial slurs, pick on players sexuality, and poke fun of people religion and politcal beliefs as well as let cheaters run rampaent ruining the gaming experience. We will continue working on adding more features and tools as well as a bunch of other cool stuff which we aren’t quite ready to talk about just now. just insert ther standard dice phrase "it's coming soon" here. We see the Rent-a-Server program in Battlefield 1 very much as a live service that will evolve over time based on your feedback, so keep it coming as we hear you loud and clear. Make a lot of complaints and maybe things will change but don't count on it. We are so far behind on putting out the next failure of a game we might not have time to fix this one. Sincerely Alexander “Striterax” Hassoon Thanks for the update and letting the PC community know that we are now the red headed step children in the gaming world? DICE sounds a lot like activision now!

Why you little !@#$ LOL I understand

Well apparently as a hardcore PC player, I am not smart enough to switch to a different server if I don't like the one I am currently in. This is total Fracking bullshit. Already twitted Al Soon on this. I will make this official. BF1 is the last video game from DICE that I will ever buy. Unless they change, I am done with them.

Hi, My name is Alexander Hassoon and I’m the Producer on the Rent-a-Server program in Battlefield 1. I wanted to take some time to talk to you about what we have in store for it in in the near future. Firstly, I need to cover some history! In previous Battlefield titles, Rent-a-Server was handled in-game on console by EA while PC was handled outside the game client by third-party providers. This setup gave PC server admins a large amount of control on the game server but often at the cost of the overall player experience. The console server admins had very little control, but the player experience was very similar to playing on official servers. We all remember how as a player you would end up on a server that did not allow certainly gameplay elements and you would be kicked or banned immediately by accidentally using one of the restricted items! So the challenge we set to ourselves at DICE was as follows - How can we increase admin control levels while not sacrificing the player experience? We started by implementing PC Rent-a-Server to the Battlefield 1 game client with the release of the Nov 15 patch. It was a very tough call to make but we felt it had to be done to offer a consistent experience for all players and allowed us control of the admin options there are. We added a lot of customization options that were not natively available in the game client before, features such as Class Restrictions, Weapon Class Restriction and Explosives Restrictions. Server admins in Battlefield 1 can now control all these options while the players won’t be punished for using them by mistake. So what does the future hold for the Rent-a-Server program in Battlefield 1? We will continue working on adding more features and tools as well as a bunch of other cool stuff which we aren’t quite ready to talk about just now. We see the Rent-a-Server program in Battlefield 1 very much as a live service that will evolve over time based on your feedback, so keep it coming as we hear you loud and clear. Sincerely Alexander “Striterax” Hassoon

The word is getting out about RSP on BF1 Everyone please keep up the complaints. Call EA wiwth your complaints, email EA & DICE with your complaints and post in the battlefield forums with your complaints! http://www.oneangrygamer.net/2016/11/some-battlefield-1-fans-are-warning-gamers-not-to-rent-servers/16816/ SOME BATTLEFIELD 1 FANS ARE WARNING GAMERS NOT TO RENT SERVERS Posted on November 17, 2016, 11:35 pm By Billy D There’s a lengthy post over on the sub-Reddit for Battlefield 1, DICE’s latest first-person shooter for home consoles and PC. The post is titled like a PSA, declaring “DO NOT RENT A SERVER!”. User GrowImonDrgnbutt has a list of bullet points as to why the rent-a-server for Battlefield 1 is actually worse than the one DICE implemented for Battlefield 4. There are way too many issues that he brings up in the thread to adequately cover in a timely and appropriate matter in this article, but the gist of it is that server administrators don’t have much control over the servers they rent, even to the point where you can’t even assign someone else to be an administrator and you don’t even get administrator privileges. The post also points out that there are no reserved slots on a server for players, VIPs or administrators, so a game can technically fill up and the admin may not even be allowed in. Other restrictions and limitations include only allowing six maps in rotation, not having a ban list or the ability to ban players from the server, and there is no in-game server menu, so you can’t make administrative changes or tweaks during a live game. Plenty of players agreed that there needs to be some tweaks made to the rent-a-server option because they aren’t likely going to pay $300 a year for what’s essentially an annexed server to the standard official servers. On PC gamers are used to having a lot of freedom and control when they pay to run their own servers, but with Battlefield 1 DICE and EA have put in more restrictions for this year’s outing than in Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4. I reached out to EA’s press rep to ask if DICE had any plans to address this issue but they haven’t responded as of the writing of this article.