Though the PC version of Battlefield 3 has already received its very substantial patch or, as DICE likes to call them, client update, PS3 and Xbox 360 gamers are still left wondering when their copies of Battlefield 3 might be getting improvements. For PS3 gamers, that wait is only a bit longer, as DICE has today announced that tomorrow will see the release of the PS3 client update.

Unfortunately, Xbox 360 owners got a less substantial timeline, with DICE saying that their client update will follow shortly after the PS3 version. Wehave no idea what “follow shortly” means in Battlefield 3 terms, but according to Major Nelson’s blog that might be December 6th.

Among the changes being implemented with this client update are fixes to the animations, graphics, and the audio of Battlefield 3, features that will help eliminate many of the hiccups gamers have been experiencing. Joining and maintaining squads will be a bit more user-friendly, and hopefully just joining and staying in a game (a problem that was extremely prevalent during Battlefield 3’s initial launch) should no longer be a nagging issue.

On the gameplay side, DICE is making a few tweaks to the damage and range of a wide variety of Battlefield 3’s weapons, including those mounted on vehicles. Clearly some of the game’s artillery felt too overpowered, and so they are toning some of that damage down.

For a complete list of the client update changes, see below:

 General fixes

  • Significant improvements to the Squad Join interface, full details in this earlier blog post
  • Removed FIND ME A SQUAD option
  • Allow players to join empty Squads alone, thus having 1/4 Squad members
  • Change order of options to LEAVE SQUAD, INV A FRIEND, SWITCH TEAM
  • Disable Privacy flag when 1 man Squad
  • Reset Privacy flag from Private to Public when Squad drops to 1 player
  • All occupied Squads will now show up colored blue on the Squad selection screen
  • Players who choose not to join Squads will also show up as Blue in the "Not in a Squad" line
  • Squads that are currently empty will display as white -- if you wish to join an empty Squad, you can choose the first one marked with white text
  • Added round duration and ticket summary at end of round screen
  • Fixed sound for when climbing ladders
  • Fixed and issue with some weapons' sounds in first person view
  • Fixed a swim sound loop error
  • You should no longer be able to damage a friendly vehicle when sitting in an open position
  • Grenades now drop to ground if you get killed while attempting to throw it
  • Spawn protection now should work in Conquest so you no longer should spawn too close to enemies
  • You should no longer spawn too close to enemies in TDM and SQDM
  • Fix for missing input restriction during intro movie, causing players to potentially fall and die while watching movie if moving controller (or having a controller with a bad stick zone)
  • Combat areas on Kharg Island in Rush mode tweaked in order to disallow defenders to access the carrier ship after first base is taken and being able to enter the AA gun
  • Fixed a problem with revived players not being able to get suppressed
  • Fixed a problem with the camera when being revived in co-op
  • Spotting VO now plays when spotting from MAV/EOD bot
  • Fixed several issues regarding the kill card, including showing wrong weapons used for the kill
  • Fixed that sometimes you would be stuck on a black screen when kicked from server
  • Fixed so when a team captures two flags at the same time, the UI does not show wrong owner of the flag
  • Fixed a problem where the capture progress bar was shown as friendly when the enemy was capturing
  • Fixed a problem with the bipod deploy sound
  • Fixed a problem that you could be spawned in with no weapons after being killed while using the EOD bot
  • Fixed problems with health bars not displaying health properly when using EOD bots
  • Fixed a problem with flickering name tags
  • Fixed a problem where you could damage friendly helicopters
  • Fixed a problem where you could get stuck in the co-op menu when attempting to join the session twice
  • You should now be able to spot explosives
  • You should no longer spawn in home base if your selected spawn point is disabled while waiting to spawn (e.g. if your teammate dies right before you are about to spawn)
  • Damage from bullets will now continue to cause damage even after the firing user is dead
  • Fixed several client crashes
  • Fixed a problem where players could get stuck in the join queue
  • Fixed the repair icon on the minimap
  • Fixed a problem with changing camera on certain vehicles
  • Fixed a problem with the grenade indicator when in guided missile mode
  • Fixed a problem where the machine could hard lock when joining a public coop game
  • Fixed a problem where the headset attached icon would not show up in the UI
  • Fixed a problem with the falling antenna on Caspian Border. It should now more instantly kill anyone in its falling path
  • Fixed a problem where tank turrets would turn too slow
  • Fixed a bug on co-op mission "Exfiltration" where you could end up outside the vehicle and not being able to enter it again, thus blocking the mission
  • Fixed a problem where a user can become invulnerable after being resurrected
  • Fixed a problem with the M60 reload sound
  • Fixed a hang in terrain streaming, causing the user to get stuck on black screen under special circumstances in single player
  • Fixed a problem where the enemy would not be able to get a road kill on a user that was using the SOFLAM
  • Fixed soldiers disappearing in the mortar kill cam
  • Fix for Type88 and MG36 zoom in animation offset when in supported shooting mode (using bipods)

Balance changes

  • Increased the damage of helicopter miniguns, AA guns, and jet cannons against infantry
  • Increased the damage of helicopter miniguns against jeeps
  • Reduced the physics impact of AA guns and jet cannons so players under attack from these weapons no longer should lose control
  • Increased the damage of the 44 Magnum slightly
  • Increased the range and minimum damage of the .357 Round from the MP412 Rex
  • Increased the range of all .45cal and 9mm weapons
  • Slightly increased the range of the P90 and MP7 and PDW-R
  • Slightly increased the range of the 5.56mm PDW-R and decreased the minimum damage at long range
  • Slightly increased the minimum range of the Mk11, SVD, and M39 EMR 7.62mm rifles
  • Decreased the maximum damage and maximum range of the G3 and SCAR-H 7.62mm weapons
  • Reduced the damage from FIM-92 and SA-18 IGLA missiles against aircraft
  • Increased the damage and range of the 40mm BUCK rounds
  • Reduced the damage .50cal weapons do against helicopters
  • Updated T90 canister shell tweaks to match Abrams canister shells

Although this might seem like Battlefield 3 is overwrought with problems, these are all just minor quibbles in the grand scheme of things. The game has already been patched several times since release, and has grown to be both more user-friendly and more stable.

Now it’s all about the fine-tuning, getting the weapons balanced enough so that gamers who have grown up with the franchise will still find all those qualities they know and love. If only they could implement an update that makes the single player more engaging.

What about this client update will have the biggest impact on your Battlefield 3 experience? What issues do you hope to see addressed in a future update?

Battlefield 3 is out now for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Source: Battlelog