Hey all, I thought I would give my personal thoughts on the Open Beta having played it for many hours since Christmas.
For me, one of the biggest features is the additional support of 60 and 120hz servers, and this is a change I welcome with open arms. 60hz servers feel snappy, responsive and include overall smoother and more solid gameplay. As of current I have not experienced a single kill trade, something that is definitely not the case on Battlefield 3. Gun play feels smoother, more responsive and kills behind cover are just about non-existent. That being said, vehicle gameplay is also significantly smoother with less 'juttering' and random position changes. For example, TV missiles feel silky smooth with no random delay from fire to impact.
The story is much the same with 120hz servers although there is clearly still some polishing that needs to be done. There are some questionable animation bugs and at times it seems the time to kill is simply too low. My personal recommendation would be to stick to 60hz servers until some of these issues are polished out.
The next big feature for aesthetic lovers like me is the ability to remove the blue tint and sun glare. This shows how beautiful the game can really be and for me brings a whole new perspective on gameplay. Removal of sun glare and completely unnecessary lens flares makes the whole experience feel like a fairer one, and prevents moments where vision is almost completely obscured due to the sun. This is a vital change for competitive gameplay.
Mod support is something I am yet to experience, although some of the YouTubers have been able to experience a glimpse of this with vehicle spawns and other shenanigans. This is something I am especially eager to try out!
Spectator mode is another fantastic addition to the game and adds a lot of competitive potential.Currently spectator mode is a very simple free cam or first-person player experience but it's a fantastic start to a feature that should have been included in Battlefield 3 since the very beginning.
Multiple soldiers is another fantastic addition. Soldiers can be deleted and created at will, allowing players to focus on an individual play style for each.
Features I'd like to see included:
Mini-map flag capture area
Fullscreen loading image
User controlled color-grading
In-game server switching
VOIP
Triage revive timer
Slightly tweaked HUD to match the new chat box
One or two servers running experimental features for users to try out
And what do you guys think of the Winning theme from the BF3 beta? I personally much prefer it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxLYpsnL0i4