Editorial

DICE has entered the Dark Side – Lied to gamers about Battlefield 3’s Mod Tools

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Remember back in July 2011, when DICE claimed that Frostbite 2 was too complex and that was the reason why they did not release mod tools for Battlefield 3? Well, they were lying. We knew back then that there was something fishy but our guess was that DICE decided to lock Battlefield 3, because the release of those mod tools would ruin their DLC plans. We were partially right, as the company had planned BF3’s DLCs long before the game’s launch. However, it seems that there was and another reason that forced DICE to lie when it came to the game’s modding tools.
Karl Magnus Troedsson, general manager at DICE, explained at GDC Europe that DICE was afraid of releasing the mod tools for Battlefield 3 because they were scared of giving players access to parts of the game’s code.
As Gamasutra reported, DICE is very much aware of how important modding can be for building up a game’s longevity, but they’re afraid of all the things that can come with releasing the code. This basically means that the release of mod tools would leave Battlefield 3 open to hacking exploits, and this is something that DICE is not comfortable with at all.
In all honesty, this is a bunch of crap. DICE is simply afraid of ruining its DLC plans and that’s why they are not releasing those anticipated mod tools. It’s really sad, because the team behind BF3 and Bad Company 2 were modders themselves and made their debut in the gaming industry via the ‘Desert Combat’ mod. These guys should know how important are mod tools. These guys should be more friendly to the idea of releasing mod tools. These guys should not be lying to us.
Those ‘hacking’ excuses are as bogus as the fact that Frostbite 2 was a really complex engine. DICE can easily tweak its netcode to prevent such issues. But then again, Battlefield’s netcode was a mess this whole time. In fact, there are already a lot of hackers that have not been punished yet, and let’s not forget that each and every patch brings new glitches to the table.
It’s unfortunate, but DICE lied to all gamers about both mod tools and Battlefield 3’s maps. Remember when they said that they would not charge for maps and that they would not follow Infinity Ward’s example? Well, we all got our answers with Battlefield Premium and the awful Battlelog browser.
Unfortunately, that’s the truth behind those rumored mod tools and why DICE is not releasing them. It’s not about hackers invading Battlefield 3. It’s not about Frostbite 2 being a complex engine. It’s because those mod tools would ruin DICE’s and EA’s business plans. And that’s a fact!