Developer DICE may have stopped releasing updates for Battlefield 3 years ago, but its dedicated community is alive and kicking with a populated modding scene.
The latest development to come from the modding scene is a Battle Royale mode that’s been retrofitted to work inside Battlefield 3. The teaser trailer shows a player jumping out of a plane, reviving downed enemies, all with a re-worked user interface to display typical BR mode stats. The outer ring also appears to simulate a circle of fire – a neat nod to Battlefield V’s inclusion of the Firestorm BR mode.
Watch it below!
What does a Battlefield 3 BR look like?
In an FAQ on the mod’s discord server, the developers have explained a little more about their vision of BF3’s BR.
“While developing we wanted to stay as close to the Battlefield 3 experience as possible,” says KVN, one of the mod’s developers.
They continue: “For example, the only character physics code we [have] modified currently is the free fall physics after you [have] jumped out of the plane (so you could land further).
“We do not want to modify any of the weapons as well, we just not gonna use all of them and group them according to their OPness. (We have 3 tiers).”
Other systems are also in the works, including:
- Team Revives
- Health and ammo replenishment
- Armour
- UI Pings
- Merchant/Shop
While this all sounds incredibly exciting, the mod team do stress that this project is still in the early stages of development and features are all subject to change. The development team currently consists of around six people. Although there is no release date yet, the team describe it as: “Coming soon™”.
Though the mod isn’t yet available to try, you can join their official discord server to receive notifications of when public playtests will begin.
How is this mod possible?
The reason that this mod exists at all is thanks to Venice Unleashed – a modding framework developed by members of the community.
Though it has been in the works for several years, the project finally released in a 1.0 state late last year. The name refers to Battlefield 3’s codename, which was internally referred to as Operation Venice within DICE during development.
A trailer for Venice Unleashed released in September last year and highlights the possibility of what can be achieved with the modding framework.
Watch it below!
What else could we see added to Battlefield 3?
At its core, Venice Unleashed is about enabling players to have fun with Battlefield 3’s engine. It provides extensive control over in-game content, extending from assets and graphical effects to game mode variables.
For example, those nostalgic for Battlefield 3 will remember the blue tint effect and the retina-burning sun flares that were applied to the original game’s image. With Venice Unleashed, those visual effects can be tweaked or removed entirely, crafting a look that’s arguable much better looking than the one DICE managed to create in 2013.
Operation Metro – Before Operation Metro – After
Thinking more broadly, the teaser trailer shows entire new maps and game modes added to BF3. A faithful recreation of CS:GO’s ‘Dust II’ map features at the beginning of the trailer with later footage showcasing a version of the classic Prop Hunt mode.
The possibilities for Venice Unleashed are seemingly endless. It’s unlikely that a new BR mode will be the last thing that we see come to the esteemed shooter.
All you’ll need to access the Venice Unleashed mod is a fully licensed copy of Battlefield 3 on PC. The DLC [downloadable content packs] is not required, though will be necessary to play on servers using DLC content.
As the VU client is separate from EA’s, all modifications to the game and server files are separate, making it legal under EU interoperability laws.
The latest instalment in the Battlefield franchise is expected to be a cross-gen reboot and is rumoured to support up to 128-players.
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[Featured Image Credit: EA/DICE]