You've got questions about EA's just announced Battlefield 3, and DICE's Alan Kertz has answers. The designer's Twitter account has been transformed into a live Battlefield 3 Q&A, providing fresh details on the upcoming shooter.

Since Battlefield 3 was officially announced on Friday, fans have been sending questions Kertz's way via his Twitter account, and Kertz has been gracious enough to respond.


Some of the highlights Kertz posted include:
Yes, there will be spotting.

Dolphin Diving is out. Period.

Vehicle/Infantry balance is a focus for me, it will be awesome this time.

No plans for ziplines or grapple hooks no.

Yes, prone is on all platforms.

BF3 will be deeper than BF2. That said we've paid a lot of attention to keeping depth while pacing the learning curve.

BF3 is the sequel to BF2. It's not BC3.

Friendly Fire will be an option, yes.

No comment on commander.

Yes, there is bullet drop. Doesn't work the same as BC2 though, it's a much deeper system.

No, no tracer darts. That's a bit too BC and not enough BF.

No, I won't confirm any vehicles from the teaser.

One of the cities is Tehran... Yes, yes there will be sand.
Further details about Battlefield 3 have also been revealed by retailers now offering the game for pre-order. Most notably, Gamestop states that urban combat will be a big part of the game:

"Take the fight to iconic and unexpected places in the USA, Middle East, and Europe including claustrophobic streets, metropolitan downtowns, and open, vehicle-friendly landscapes as you fight your way through the war of tomorrow."

In a related story, DICE has posted a video presentation of its new Battlefield 3 game engine, Frostbite 2:



Battlefield 3 is being developed for Windows PCs, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game is set to ship sometime this fall.


Sharkey says: This is gonna be fun. Battlefield 2 was a landmark shooter, and that DICE believes it now has the engine to create a true successor to that classic says a great deal. Can't wait to see this one in action.