Battlefield 3 will be just as good on PC
"I won't 'dumb it down'," says designer.
Battlefield developer DICE has promised the third instalment in the series will be just as enjoyable on PC as it is on consoles.
Posting on the EA forum, designer Alan Kerz acknowledged, "PC players have a fear that BF3 will be 'consolized'.
"PC players have their own set of requirements... Anything that feels like it might have been "ported" from a console is going to get flamed hard," he wrote. "It's a damn sight harder to please a PC player, they have higher expectations."
But Kerz reckons DICE is up to the job. "Battlefield 3 needs an extra bit of special attention on the PC. I intend to give it that attention, tradition and our community demand it."
So what does that mean in real terms? Well, for starters they have been fiddling with the controls to make sure shooting guns is just as much fun in the PC game as it is in the console versions.
"In response to the feedback on PC, I completely retweaked the accuracy," said Kerz. "The next playtest it was immediately obvious that it was a change for the better, and surprisingly it also made gamepads feel much better as well.
"Fundamentally I think it is an error to have different core gameplay on console vs PCs. PC gives a player more input control and if a gun feels good on PC it feels good on console. I won't "dumb it down" by lowering the recoil or changing the damage model or other such silliness."
There will be other similarities between the versions, pledged Kerz, such as epic, sprawling battlefields, tight infantry fights, balanced weapons, good teamplay and a rewarding progression system.
Little else is known about Battlefield 3 so far - EA hasn't even announced a release date. Here's hoping we find out more soon.