Battlefield 3 has certainly drawn a distinct line in the sand with the game’s visuals. Obviously, the powerful Frostbite 2 engine that DICE cooked up has a lot of complexities that will already have some mod enthusiasts drooling at the kind of products they could create.
After E3 2011, DICE released a video showcasing the Frostbite 2 and its ability to render all kinds of technological wonders. Beautiful, gorgeous, and jaw-dropping are all accurate descriptors of the game’s graphical and animation abilities.
In advance of the cries for modding tools to be included with the retail version of the game, Electronic Arts’ senior vice president Patrick Soderlund went on the record with GameStar calling the technology too advanced for players to use:
You can also get an idea of what kinds of things Frostbite 2 is capable of in a video discussing the redesign of the popular Battlefield 2 map ‘Strike at Karkand.’ It goes without saying that the differences between the second and third games in the series will be nothing short of staggering.
While the justification of leaving out Frostbite 2 mod tools is that it’s “too difficult” to use for many experienced modders, there’s no telling what a committed mod community can accomplish. Just take a look at what some hard work and a love of Star Wars did for Modern Warfare, creating the Galactic Warfare mod.
Soderlund has admitted that there are no plans for mod tools “as of now,” so hope may yet still be on the horizon for fans to play around and create their own maps or tweak gameplay enough to create whatever their hearts desire. Fingers crossed, right?
What do you think of the reason given? Do you trust the new engine is still too powerful to be tweaked effectively, or should modders be given the chance to produce even better results than previously thought possible?
Battlefield 3 is releasing October 25, 2011 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
-
Follow me on Twitter @TrungleFever
Source: GameStar (via CVG)
