Chrisch
Software-Overclocker(in)
AW: Battlefield 3 ohne eigentliches Menü
Ich finds immer toll, es meckern immer DIE Leute, die es nichtmal getestet haben.
Das hier beschreibt es gut
Ich pers. habe 2 Wochen mit Battlelog gearbeitet (BF3 Alpha Trail) und bin davon begeistert
Ich finds immer toll, es meckern immer DIE Leute, die es nichtmal getestet haben.
Das hier beschreibt es gut
Battlelog - Advantages, disadvantages and why It's the best menu system in games so far - Electronic Arts UK CommunityThere's a ton of (negative) discussion about DICE's decision to move the Battlefield 3 menu and server browser to Battlelog. While I think it's great to have opinions and give feedback, most of the discussion seems to revolve around false assumptions.
I'm by no means saying all the arguments against it are false, but I just hope I can open some eyes so you can see the advantages we, the players, get from a solution like that. That's why I decided to list some facts about the subject and clear some of the false assumptions.
Also, before we start, I don't care if this is tl;dr for you. It's a huge wall of text and if you aren't interested in reading it, let it fall to the graveyard of threads, the page 2. Bumping it with "tl;dr, battlelog sucks" achieves the exact opposite of what you want and just makes you look stupid.
Advantages in using web browsers as the menu platform
Full customization
While this is something that the developers haven't really said anything about, it's a fact that if you see something in your web browser, you can customize it. You can basically present everything you see in Battlelog just like you want.
It takes some basic understanding of JavaScript and CSS, but luckily customizations can be shared and userscripts are really easy to install in your browser, you just drag and drop the file to your browser and hit ok in the dialog.
Basically what this means is that the only limitation in Battlelog is what you can get from the server behind it. Everything regarding how the Battlelog looks and how it works is essentially something that can be changed as the players want.
Edit: Some people understood this as a way to change colors. While it's possible, userscripts certainly aren't limited to that. You can create custom filters, auto-join systems, add more stats via calculations and pretty much anything you can think of. Only limitation is the data you get from the server and there's quite a lot of data.
Native browser features, usability
While reading thilalalala CTRL+ and CTRL-. See how the website scales? What this means is that you can easily read this from a small TV, while sitting on a couch a few meters away. It's called usability and by default it works in all the websites.
There's a ton of other usability stuff, like how you can copy a part of this text and paste it somewhere, or how you can print this. These are only some of the active usability options which come from the browsers. Some of the things you might not even notice in every day use are simple things, like how the browser utilizes your resolution to present more data at once.
All this will work in Battlelog by default. How often do you see it in in-game solutions? Never.
Fast and easy development, smooth updating
Browser based menu is much easier to create than in-game solutions via C++. Basically the menu and server browser will consist of a markup language (HTML), stylesheets (CSS) and script (JavaScript). These are all designed just to present and to interact with 2D data. While it might sound like much, anyone who has a basic understanding of these can build the front-end side of something like a server browser extremely quickly and it will instantly be more usable than 90% of the current in-game solutions.
Assuming you are connected to the internet, the menu is fetched over the internet when you connect to Battlelog. This means DICE can update it on the fly and you don't need to download any specific patches for your game.
Faster and easier development means better UI for us and more time for DICE to focus in the development of the gameplay, which means better game for us. It's a win-win.
Common false assumptions
"We will be forced to be online"
Nope, your browser doesn't require internet connection and all the Battlelog-files can be stored locally. This means that even if DICE puts the singleplayer components in Battlelog, they can still allow 100% offline play through local copy of Battlelog. It's up for them to decide if they want to do it.
"It can be hacked"
Yes, so can any server which is connected to internet and accepts some sort of requests. It doesn't matter which client you use to access the server, if the security sucks, it can be hacked. The EA servers you log in to from Bad Company 2 are just as secure as Battlelog servers. Keyloggers don't care if you use a browser or the game exe and so on.
Some people also refer DDOS (distributed denial of service) attacks as "hacking", which it isn't. It's entirely possible this can happen to Battlelog, but it can also happen to any EA server, even the master servers which are used in the game server listing.
"I have to do so many additional things to play"
No. You can put a Battlelog shortcut in your desktop and name it Battlefield 3. When you launch it, you will be taken to log-in screen and from there, to the menu. You pick your server, it loads the map and you play. It's just as straight forward as any other Battlefield title and probably works million times faster.
There's no additional steps that Battlelog would cause. When you want to switch the server, you either hit escape and quit to disconnect. Just pick a different server and play. Alternatively you can alt-tab, if you want to stay on the server for some reason.
"But I want to keep my menu in the actual game"
Do you really care if the process behind the menu states chrome.exe, firefox.exe or battlefield.exe? Isn't the priority what gives you the best possible experience? If the web browsers bother you, you can put them in full-screen mode and customize the Battlelog to look like an in-game menu. You can even make it less usable like in-game solutions if you really want.
Just ignore the fact it's utilizing your browser and you'll realize how awesome it is compared to anything you've seen in games previously.
Genuine disadvantages
I won't lie, there's a few actual disadvantages to this system and they are perfectly valid points if you want to argument against it. However, personally I think the advantages outweight these by million times.
Memory usage
Browsers eat memory, there's no way around it. Modern browsers are very feature-rich and even one chrome tab tends to take about 100k memory. While keeping it in memory allows you to instantly switch back to it from the game, it means the game can utilize a little less memory.
Browser compatibility
DICE has to ensure Battlelog supports all future versions of the browsers, if it requires some sort of extensions, they also need to keep them up-to-date. Luckily browsers always have developer builds appearing early, so developers have time to ensure the compatibility of their stuff.
However, it's still a genuine concern. Basically you have to trust DICE to keep the Battlelog updated. While I don't have any doubts, it doesn't make it any less valid concern.
So yeah, thanks for reading through this. I hope I bring up even some good points and remove some false assumptions we see around here. Feel free to discuss Battlelog here and I'd appreciate any feedback or additional stuff I should mention in this post. Just don't turn this into a mindless flamewar.
It's ok to disagree with Battlelog, but please check your facts before you make arguments
Ich pers. habe 2 Wochen mit Battlelog gearbeitet (BF3 Alpha Trail) und bin davon begeistert
)). Wenn schon, dann gleichberechtigt.
Habs eben gelesen, und denke Battlelog wird wenns da ist weniger negative Kritik bekommen.
