Community Update - 6/3/05

the_syco

To Play (Ranked) or Not to Play (Ranked)
Now that Battlefield 2 has gone Gold, we felt it would be a good time to share our plans for Ranked server configurations with the community. Also, we thought that some insight into these settings would be useful for prospective Battlefield 2 players (those new to the franchise as well as those who are not so new) in determining which servers will provide the best possible player experience for a given player. Obviously not all players are built the same and while some players will take to the highly competitive Ranked servers like fish to water, we are also certain that many other players will prefer to play in relative safety on Unranked servers.

Ranked Servers
Ranked servers will be where the hardcore bump heads and clash knives. All Ranked Servers will be configured to provide the definitive competitive Battlefield experience. Friendly Fire is on, and TK will be punished by default, so all players will need to use their tools wisely and watch out for the tools that have been deployed by their teammates. If, for example, you have a hankering to be the best sniper to ever stare down the sights of an SVD in Battlefield 2, these are the servers on which you will have to walk the walk. If you’d rather not spend your time trying to figure out where the world’s #1 sniper is popping your melon from, see below.

Ranked servers will be heavily administrated and have Punkbuster on. The integrity of the stats system is of paramount importance to EA (and of course to those participating in it) and so we will be monitoring things constantly. At the end of the day, Ranked servers will be a safe, regulated environment on which the most competitive players will be spending their time. If this environment doesn’t sound right for you, that’s great. That’s what Unranked servers are for.

Unranked Servers
These servers are the wild cards – every one will be different, set to suit a specific part of our community (that part can be an individual player turned server operator, whole clans or even fan websites). The one thing these will all have in common, however, is the lack of pressure to meet the high standard of play we will expect on Ranked servers (i.e. don’t be a nuisance, don’t break EA’s Terms and Conditions and strive to be a team player).

Unranked servers will be the best environment for new players to learn Battlefield 2, though you will need to find a server that best suits your learning needs. Peruse the settings that we highlight for you on the Internet browser when you select a server – we encourage new players to learn the game on servers that have Friendly Fire set to off. On these servers, you won’t need to worry about your Commander’s errant artillery strikes, or the mines your buddy left covering each route out of a base. Even if you screw up, nobody’s likely to care more than a couple of seconds – after all there are no long-term consequences. That said, always be aware that there will be Unranked servers that are configured with more hardcore settings. Choose your server wisely.

Ranked Servers – A Higher Standard of Play
To play online, all users will create new user accounts for Battlefield 2, and in creating an account, you are accepting EA’s Terms and Conditions.

We will be enforcing these Terms and Conditions across all Ranked servers, whether they are operated by EA or by one of our partners. We encourage all prospective Battlefield 2 players to become familiar with these Terms and Conditions.

Be ready. You won’t be able to hide behind "game.changeplayername" any more.


Mod Tool Update
With Battlefield 2 a nice golden color, we turn our attention for a moment to the Mod Tools for Battlefield 2 (aka the BF2 Editor). Those of you who have been in the Battlefield Community long term are familiar with the lengths to which we are going in supporting a healthy, vital Mod community on the Battlefield 2 Editor. As examples, we cite past BF2 Editor updates in which we highlighted new features and the enhanced usability available in this new generation of Battlefield editing tools. Further EA and DICE sponsored two separate Mod events (one at EA Headquarters and at EA Chertsey) to meet with our Mod community leaders and discuss the Editor. Finally, Lawrence Brown, our Mod Support Coordinator, has been hard at work documenting the tools and creating informational packets to bootstrap our Mod Community – the first two Mod Info packets were made widely available on PlanetBattlefield just last week in fact. At least two more of these will be coming in the remaining time before the Editor is released.

Obviously, all of the work DICE and Lawrence have put in to the Editor and surrounding documentation have been leading to the release of the Mod Tools themselves. While we have to report, sadly, that the Editor will not be out a month ahead of Battlefield 2 as we had been aiming for, we are still set on releasing the tools in Open Beta form on or slightly before the day Battlefield 2 hits shelves. Keep your eyes on this space for more Mod Info packets and the eventual release of the inimitable Battlefield 2 Editor.

That's it for this weeks update. This is EAComMike signing off for the rest of the Battlefield team.

Sounds nice:cool:

bizmark

That stuff about servers in the biggest load of crap iv ever heard from Ea, Ea servers are known solely for being a noob paradise not some ultra competitive environment where you can hone your skills indeed your likely to be flamed for being a stat whore if your in anyway decent and play from time to time on ea servers.

They would put the Nazis to shame for propaganda sometimes.