Sledgehammer co-founder and general manager Glen Schofield has said he feels under massive pressure to deliver the goods with Modern Warfare 3.
The former EA Visceral Games boss told the latest issue of Edge: "We were very confident after Dead Space, especially with our development processes. We knew we could deliver within a deadline and with a lot of polish. And that confidence was exactly what was needed.
"But there are days when you think: 'Holy shit, this is a monster'. There is a lot of stress. It's not crippling, but the thing that worries me most is people going: 'Look, there's the guy who brought down Call of Duty!' That scares the crap out of me."
Modern Warfare 3 is the most coveted title this holiday season, according to a survey of 5,000 active US gamers conducted by Nielsen.
It might not be the case at Activision HQ, but Modern Warfare 3 co-developer Infinity Ward insists it isn't concerned by sales numbers.
Comments
48 comments so far...
deepbluerd on 1 Oct '11 said:
You cant fail now. After playing the BF3 Beta the game is over hyped. You have no worries Sledgehammer.
kirankara on 1 Oct '11 said:
Nah they can't fail now, as it's just mw2 again.
Bf3 takes a bit of getting used to , but when it clicks , it's awesome . I hated it initially, but it's easily my favorite fps this gen already now .
joycey on 1 Oct '11 said:
Is it really worth perservering with? I had 15 mins on it last night & I'm not sure if it were the controls, but I could not get used to it. ALSO, I could not see any bloody enemies although they could obviously see me as I kept getting murdered. Got bored - turned it off. Dissappointed. The graphics werent as spectacular as expected either.
pRM8 on 1 Oct '11 said:
The beta isn't really showing off the best parts of the game though to be fair but if you don't like the 'feel' of BF3 then that's not EA/DICE's fault, the feel of BF hasn't changed a great deal since BF2 and even going further back to 1942. And that's a good thing btw but Other maps and modes will show how good BF3 can be.
OT, well I would say that Activision probably have a lot to do with that pressure and it cant be easy having to work with 2 other studios AND have the game ready for its annual release.
KieranTC on 1 Oct '11 said:
In my opinion, certainly from what has been shown of the game already, it looks like Sledgehammer are thriving under the pressure the COD franchise brings with it.
damoxuk on 1 Oct '11 said:
yes because 15 mins is "ages" to try to get used to controls
All I can say is meh to FPS and say "Skyrim"
a3HeadedMonkey on 1 Oct '11 said:
I bet it got a lot less stressful after they played the BF3 demo. LOL
J-S on 1 Oct '11 said:
'stressful' ? Just get copies of COD:Black Ops & change the cover to say COD:MW3 & there you go LoL (they are all the same COD games every year)
EvilWaterman on 1 Oct '11 said:
The BF3 hate is clearly coming from CoD lovers. Im glad you lot hate it, it means that the real team players will be left to play it properly.
MW3 is looking exactly like MW2. Although, you MW3 players are in for a treat this year, you gonna be able to smash more glass than ever!!
TheLastDodo on 1 Oct '11 said:
I wouldn't worry about it Sledgehammer, whether you succeed or fail you'll be fired anyway.
kirankara on 1 Oct '11 said:
Tbf it looks like they've done good job in refining the game, and some nice ideas to make it more balanced etc.
I find cod fun for a while , but then it gets too samey for my liking . Even team based modes are just team deathmatch cause of players playing them that way.
Is it really worth perservering with? I had 15 mins on it last night & I'm not sure if it were the controls, but I could not get used to it. ALSO, I could not see any bloody enemies although they could obviously see me as I kept getting murdered. Got bored - turned it off. Dissappointed. The graphics werent as spectacular as expected either.
Maybe not as spectacular as everyone hoped, but yes, its absolutely worth sticking with. I genuinely, couldn't stand it at first, I really couldn't get used to it, but when u slowly piece it together , it's bloody brilliant. Nothing is as good at creating a sense of scale in war, and it is a team based game. If you approach it as a lone player, u will die, lots, and worse still lose.
You definitely need to play for a while , as unlocks even up field more.
Latetzki on 1 Oct '11 said:
Don't you worry, Call Of Duty died already.
gmcb007 on 1 Oct '11 said:
This
It's funny how the tables have turned for them seeing how they were slagging of Battlefield 3 a while back ( a thing they don't have any right to do seeing how they didn't make COD or it's engine, but are just called in help).
Is it so hard for people to stick to the topic here without going into another BF3 V COD debate?
KK-Headcharge78 on 1 Oct '11 said:
You been on the sauce? From a one map beta you make that statement, not like you thats all
dazmeister on 1 Oct '11 said:
Well played BF3 Beta for 3 hours straight yesterday, and gotta say though my first 2 matches i was getting used to the controls, dying a lot, i slowly became better and better at it. There is no doubt it plays well and you have be tactical and can't just rush into the action firing everywhere like in COD4 (yes i did not buy the s**tty sequels and not MW3 either, sorry Sledgehammer, it's not you it's the game) , once you get the hang of it you should do ok. i say that because still the majority of games i played even after slowly moving in after respawning, especially in the park map, some faggot with a sniper prone hidden by rocks kept shooting me and i couldn't see s**t. I'm not complaining, i'm merely saying a lot of people will use the word "tactical" as meaning "camping", so it depends the way you look at it. In Conclusion:
BF3 Beta Pros:
- Good gameplay once you get used to it and adapt from COD. If you don't adapt, you die. So change the way you play you brainless COD fanboys. Or don't bother playing. BF3 is, IMO, a much more realistic depiction of war than COD ever will be, and i love playing tactically, actually using my brain to outsmart foes unlike in COD.
- Heavy team based reliance. This is not Rambo, which i like.
Cons:
- Graphics are way below i feel than what i was led to believe with all the hype about the visuals. Maybe on PC it looks great, but on my Ps3, there was a lot of anti-aliasing problems eg. Stairs in Metro Map, and the visuals were just downright average in my eyes, playing on my 32" Sony Bravia. The graphics are really not that good, better than COD MW3, but say compared to the UC3 beta that was out 3 months ago, it can't hold a candle to Uncharted 3.
- A lot of camping going on, or is that just being "tactical" ? Sorry i'm finding it hard to tell.
But i really couldn't care either way, cos i couldn't give a s**t about FPS's this year, it's all about Uncharted 3 baby!!
KK-Headcharge78 on 1 Oct '11 said:
As you have just demonstrated
Having played MW3 I don't think they have too much to worry about, if people think it's just MW2 again then wait to play it, it plays very different (looks are similar granted but I can think of another game that was supposed to the be the 2nd coming...). If you are not that bothered about the actual game keep on trolling......
Thanks Dazmeister right on que, a load of waffle in a thread about a game you don't like, that hasn't been released
gmcb007 on 1 Oct '11 said:
@KK
I was just referring to Sledgehammer's previous attitude in which BF3 was mentioned. However there is ones here who have to bring up the BF beta which has nothing to do with sledgehammer.
kirankara on 1 Oct '11 said:
Bf3 takes a bit of getting used to , but when it clicks , it's awesome . I hated it initially, but it's easily my favorite fps this gen already now .
You been on the sauce? From a one map beta you make that statement, not like you thats all
Ok I can only base it on what I've played , but yeah I am thoroughly enjoying it.
Maybe I was bit over zealous lol, but no more so than anyone slagging it off based on one map , let alone 15 mins .
Drusus on 1 Oct '11 said:
Am I the only one who is loving the BF3 beta then? I don't know, I'm playing it on max settings and it looks gorgeous and it feels like its set just right for me, fast enough to feel exciting but impossible if you're going to run around spraying from the hip.
Feels like I can cover one point on the map the entire match and be useful and if five people are working together in a public match on one team, that team is winning the match, unless more people are talking and working together on the other team. That for me is much better than everyone do their own thing and you'll circle the map twenty times in one game.
One comment earlier said they kept getting killed and they couldn't see the enemy, I think that's why I learned early on in the battlefield series, if your butt ain't in cover then you're dead. With a little bit of thought and a change of play style I don't see why COD gamers couldn't adapt to the new tactics and the harsher experience.
A lot simply won't though so that's fine that's why we have the choice.
Graphical bugs and glitches aside I'm really having fun with BF3, Caspian Border is an awesome map and metro is fun for rush.
Don't know why i'm posting this here but people were discussing it so I gave my two cents, feel free to disregard at will.
EDIT... I'm buying MW3 on launch day and I think it looks a hell of a lot of fun, just in case people thought I might be trolling.
shogunreaper on 1 Oct '11 said:
Its stressfull to rehash the same game year after year?
Yeah..i feel sorry for those guys, must be hard figuring out new ways to sell the same game to the same idiots year after year.
JD_Method on 1 Oct '11 said:
Personally, I'm loving the BF3 beta. Yeah, it does take some getting used to as people have said, but once you unlock some better weapons and some attachments, you can lay waste to the other team if you have the right people to play against (read: easy people). I managed to get over 60 kills in one game using the M249 machine gun! I was just mowing down the f**kers!
I'm not too fond of the first area in the park because, yeah, there's too many snipers and it's hard to see anyone. From my experience though, if on the attacking team, don't be afraid to just charge in and try and arm the M-COM. If you die then at least you'll find out where people are covering it from and if you do make it then there you go. Also, you can hear when people are arming or disarming the M-COMs, so stick close and listen out.
kirankara on 1 Oct '11 said:
I hated first area to begin with, but now I almost prefer it. You should look out for the light bouncing off sights and aim in that part and I rack up few kills of snipers.
Anyway, I am here to say, as much as I give cod stick, it's good at what it does , but that's not for me, and I guess sames applicable to bf( although this map isn't exactly representative of bf).
They just posted list of some of fixes being made off beta .
from the battlelog: T
his blog post is the first in a series of posts that will outline some of the changes we are making in the final game thanks to your feedback and participation in the Open Beta.
A SELECTION OF CHANGES FROM OPEN BETA TO FINAL, PART 1
(Not a complete list – for up to date news, visit the News section in Battlelog)
* Fixed occasional client crash when reviving.
* Fixed killcam showing glitched area under map if your killer is dead.
* Issue with spawning on dead squad mates fixed.
* Fixed a bug where shooting at a moving enemy could cause more than the intended amount of damage.
* Crosshairs for shotguns have been replaced with a new, thinner, art.
* A subtle low health screen effect has been added.
* Tweaked scores of Medals and Service Stars.
* Tweaked the Rank progression.
* Pushing prone on console will not play the animation twice.
* Fixed loss of Squad Leader after EOR at some times.
* Framerate stability fixes.
* The 3D spotting icons has been tweaked to better match the target’s visibility. Icons will show frequently less on mostly obscured targets.
* Fixed issue with crosshair disappearing after round transition.
* Fixed issue with crosshair disappearing after trying to deploy while the countdown timer still active.
* Squad list now shows specializations chosen, VOIP activity and dead squad mates.
* Non working options in squad menu fixed: "Private" flag and "Switch Teams".
I will probably give mw3 a whirl on someone elses console, but I'm a bf man . It's just horses for courses
KMakawa on 1 Oct '11 said:
Seems people can't read notices anymore.
Beta isn't a representation of the game, infact they chose one of the smallest maps to display, purely because they wanted to test the man vs man combat/running rather then the Vehicle warfare. Large scale maps, and all out vehicle warfare is what Battlefield is about, DICE are clever to keep those candys in the bag, but a poor choice of Beta map, but its one of the buggiest, so it deserves it.
In terms of people saying it looks bad, or didnt compare to what they had hoped for.. -- Game is in Beta, most of the visual settings are toned down, most on the PC are even capped/disabled! Texturing isnt set on its max either.
Thats the bad thing about Beta's, people treat it as playing the game and less about help fixing the bugs. People also forget that it is a test-stage release, not a full-polished release, so expect bugs, and lesser graphics.. Sheish.
Back on topic; With other 500 Developers in 7 development studios, Call of Duty is still seen stressful, even with that much supportwork, and they still cant make a new engine with 500 devs? Okay. Best of luck to COD, But Sledgehammer.. you guys will be known for taking COD down in a few years (if you havent been fired before that), purely because COD is a dieing title.
ZeroTime on 1 Oct '11 said:
It's funny you should even say this considering there have been no Call of Duty Beta tests since World at War. If MW3 were to have a Beta test, you would probably be saying the same thing.
Betas often use a modified Alpha version of the game, and they are more for stress test means than actual bug-bashing.
kirankara on 1 Oct '11 said:
@kmakawa
Tbh, cod will sell billions as usual , no doubt breaking all records known to man in process .
Plu the engine they're using now, pretty much is an all new engine, as they've done a lot of work on it over the years.
Unreal engine 3 bares no resemblance to the original engine either for same reasons .
MattyR95 on 1 Oct '11 said:
You do realise that the actual battlefield build is far ahead of the beta one which is an older version, right?
cam123 on 1 Oct '11 said:
'Look, there's the guy who brought down Call of Duty!'
*Applaudes
sjb1989cfc on 1 Oct '11 said:
Battlefield 3 is a campers paradice and it is overhyped, Just don't f**k up MW3.
craiglackenby on 1 Oct '11 said:
Cod = pick up and play.
BF = Know your role or get f**ked up.
If people are camping it's because the map (Metro) is big enough to snipe on. Also like some dick with his LMG bi-pod down mowing you down, everyone plays their role be it support, rushing or sniping, it's the beauty of BF which seperates it from CoD.
It took me a while to get into BF controls but now I'm cool with it pulling 30/15, 22/6 games all the time. Not a lot of kills compaired to Ground War which never gets old for me.
Did anyone else loose all interest in MW3 when the mess of killstreaks were announced? I think it's going to be too noob friendly this time. I'll just stick to BF3 and Blops.
casshern09 on 1 Oct '11 said:
For those saying the graphics werent that great in the BF3 beta. Thats because ultra settings were not available. No DX11 graphics were in it. It will be waaaaaaaaaaaaay prettier in retail.
Also, unless you played caspian border you have no idea how good this game is. OP Metro was the worst idea of a map I have ever seen, just a friggin bottleneck. CB is utterly awesome. I couldnt care less if people have cancelled their pre order. I cannot wait till the full release comes out. There is no way Im gonna pay £40 for a MW2 map pack.
kirankara on 1 Oct '11 said:
That's f'in hilarious . Cod invented camping . At least in bf you can take down the building they camping in, or see reflection off their scope . What do you do about campers in cod with their claymores?
I'd still take campers in bf3 over quicksniping noobs.
perins on 1 Oct '11 said:
at first i wasn't sure about the battlefield 3 beta but after 15 mins I realised that it was one of the best fps iv ever played.
FinalFantasyFan on 1 Oct '11 said:
I'm confused, how is just copying and then pasting MW2 and then calling it MW3 stressful? I mean that's what the COD games have been doing since the release of MW anyway.
Stryker89 on 1 Oct '11 said:
Pahahahahahaa!! Ohh that made me giggle. You keep telling yourself that.
Mmmmgrolsch on 1 Oct '11 said:
CoD invented camping?
I'm sorry but its a lot harder to deal with campers on BF3 than it is on any CoD game. It doesn't help the graphics aren't up to scratch making it hard to make out the images in the distance.
chunkysatsuma on 2 Oct '11 said:
Cancelled my preorder after the beta, just awful detail in the graphics, blocky and lacking texture - handles poorly to boot!
ZeroTime on 2 Oct '11 said:
So long. Take a peak at the definition for "Beta test" on your way out.
chunkysatsuma on 2 Oct '11 said:
The game is being printed to discs right now, it is out in a month - how much do you think this "Beta test" will really influence the final game? Its a demo not a Beta and if you believe otherwise bad luck
gnokgnik on 2 Oct '11 said:
chunkysatsuma: Agreed. And, yes, the gfx was shockingly poor on the console. I thought BF3 was gonna be a day one purchase, but no.
kirankara on 2 Oct '11 said:
They've stated its going to print on next few weeks. Yes the beta isn't great quality technically, but the code is old and there will be quite a few changes between that code and retail code. Look at crysis 2 beta on ps3, or even the review code, which was radically different to retail code, and that was only few weeks inbetween the two codes.
chunkysatsuma on 2 Oct '11 said:
The Gears Beta was done right, 6 months before game goes to print - high quality already (graphics and controls had been finished) it was just stress testing the servers and making changes to the weapon balance and the maps.
Halo Reach Beta was just a glorified demo but again - it was near final code so didnt give a poor impression.
I cannot see why releasing old coding 4 weeks before a game is due out is a good idea and I cant believe anyone would have agreed to that? If they did then that person needs hauling over the coals, any chance Battlefield had at outselling COD has been crushed by the "beta" in my opinion.
I truely hope it is an old code and the game is amazing, that said my preorder is cancelled. It got cancelled the moment I found a wall with a perfect edge and right angled end - the days of using rulers on graphics should be long gone!
(again all my opinion not stating any of this as fact :p)
djreplay on 2 Oct '11 said:
Battlefield 3 has probably gone gold already, it's out in 26 day's so there probably printing the disc's as we speak.
chunkysatsuma on 2 Oct '11 said:
Exactly DjReplay
It means either DONT release old code so close to release or DO have a beta when it can actually help make changes.
kirankara on 2 Oct '11 said:
Dice have explicitly stated it's not gone to print yet. I've said that several time and it's all over net if you look.
The examples of Gears and Halo are both MS exclusives that are funded by MS themselves , so they have more time and money available to them , so can spend extra time getting beta up to scratch . Bf3 has a substantial budget no doubt and beta should have been a better quality, but they have a release schedule to stick to, and they've stated they couldnt release a later build , as it wouldn't have got through the red tape at Sony/mS in time.
They wanted to test servers and get extensive playtesting so that the glitches and minor issues that do get picked up by people playing it, and get missed in development are fixed for release .
ZeroTime on 2 Oct '11 said:
Old build of the game that's far behind the current developer build.
I imagine you never played the Bad Company 2 Beta.
Also, in this day and age, it's quite generous to give a publisher 3 weeks to get the game burned to discs.
theblkwhsp on 2 Oct '11 said:
Spot on my man, spot on. This is not a beta; it's a demo. They've even admitted it's running from earlier code and thank god. The beta was ok but nothing worthy of the hype over the last year. So far all I'm seeing is Bad Company 2 set in the urban spawn. Not a bad thing of course but no revolution.
theblkwhsp on 2 Oct '11 said:
So as is the norm this thread's descended into the usual MW3 vs BF3 slanging match but my question is, who's buying both?
Personally I'm looking forward to BF3 for the tactical element, vehicles, large maps, the pushing forward and the taking of objectives with a team. For Modern Warefare 3 I'm looking forward to stronger, more satisfying shooting mechanics, a better menu system that's not as cluttered with badly thought out design options, better controls, tighter maps and Spec Ops mode. Both should have great campaigns.
The point is both games have their plus points - if they didn't you'd effectively be buying the same game. So if one is not for you try to understand why the other person would prefer it rather than insult the entire fan base just because you can't see past your own opinion.
Anyone else dipping their toe in both camps and becoming a double agent?
tezza2001 on 5 Oct '11 said:
The pressure will drive you to succeed, could be worst you could be working for Tryarch lol..