Official Modern Warfare 3 Thread

[iTTRS]

this post completes me.

Glad to be of service.

Typically with the CoD games, Activision has 2 studios working on the properties so they can have yearly releases. The simple estimate is that each team has 2 years from completion of their prior game to create their next one.
ie Infinity Wards releases were 2 years apart from each other:
CoD 03
CoD2 05
CoD4:MW 07
CoD(6):MW2 09

likewise with Treyarch's games:
CoD3 06
CoD(5):WaW 08
CoD(7):BlOps 10

With the MW3 game, guesstimate that the full, original Infinity Ward team had maybe half a year to work on the new property before a good chunk of them left. Former heads West and Zampella were fired on Mar 1 2010, with 46 IW members leaving by May of 2010, 38 of those re-joining West and Zampella @ Respawn Studios, MW2 was released Nov of 2009.

The main concern is an unknown developer Sledgehammer Games has their hands in it (with Raven Soft rumored to be handling the multiplayer ) whereas the 2 previous MW games were completely handled by Infinity Ward. Obviously there are extraordinary circumstances this time around.

It looks great, but so does every game that uses engine. Black Ops is apparently Treyarchs best game in the series, it looks great, and uses a version of the IW engine, but its a still a little off from Infinity Wards best. I just wonder how this group will fare with this one.

Some excellent points sir. I never got too caught up in the massive scandal with IW and Activision, however I will side almost exclusively with IW any day. I am also rather enticed to see what Respawn Studios puts out in the up coming year of two. They picked up a massive advancement with all those individuals, perhaps a new heavyweight contender is going to enter the ring in '12?
With all the buzz that Battlefield 3 is creating, I am not sure how well MW3 is going to fare against the competition. But like I said before, the two titles are completely different playing styles and most hardcore MW/MW2 fans will be strictly loyal to the franchise.
I will also throw it out there that even though I can waste hours on Black Ops (or Blops as my friends and I refer to it now) the only reason that I can is due to the wager matches that my friends and I enjoy playing. Yes they are rage enduing some times, but if you have a laid back group of buddies that wants to just chuck tomahawks at each other for 3 hours, that's easily the best 3 hours of my day/week.
As for the Sledgehammer Games and Raven, they have each been very productive and have produced an interesting array of games. See here for list.
I think that the addition of Sledgehammer games, with its Dead Space background, is going to assist well with the finely tuned graphics of the series, which have always gotten better. It will be interesting to see how the three developers pan out.

[robhurlburt]

I will also throw it out there that even though I can waste hours on Black Ops (or Blops as my friends and I refer to it now) the only reason that I can is due to the wager matches that my friends and I enjoy playing.

Gun game and multiplayer zombies are the only thing worth a damn on that game. i wonder what amazon is getting for a trade in on it

[iTTRS]

Gun game and multiplayer zombies are the only thing worth a damn on that game. i wonder what amazon is getting for a trade in on it

Its funny because I play on the weekends with my friends and we each like a different wager match game. This leads to us all in a party, where one person is always the winner and everyone is fighting for second and third.
Or we all go for the player skilled at the specific game
Good times.

Favorite moment. 5 seconds left in Sticks n' Stones, hit by tomahawk from across the entire map
This has happened on more than one occasion for me.

[gizmopop]

Its funny because I play on the weekends with my friends and we each like a different wager match game. This leads to us all in a party, where one person is always the winner and everyone is fighting for second and third.
Or we all go for the player skilled at the specific game
Good times.

My group of friends are also like this, Modern Warfare Mondays was our thing.

Favorite moment. 5 seconds left in Sticks n' Stones, hit by tomahawk from across the entire map
This has happened on more than one occasion for me.

You know you can export these as clips right ?

[iTTRS]

You know you can export these as clips right ?

Indeed I do. Its just that I never have time, since I work long hours, go to the gym almost every day, and then play several games before I crawl (almost literally) into bed and pass out for a couple hours (6 tops) and do it all over again.
Sadly, there are days where I don't have time to play at all. But the good news is that my roommate for this summer got his own ps3, which means that I will have some one around nagging me to play more, wait... is that a good thing?

[dashrendar]

More info: Horde mode in Spec Ops!

http://content.usatoday.com/communit...rn-warfare-3/1

[Laser04]

More info: Horde mode in Spec Ops!

http://content.usatoday.com/communit...rn-warfare-3/1

Juggernauts...

[Mixican]

I hope they have Combat Training, that and Wager Match are two things from Black Ops that I would really like to see return.

[Frenchieee]

I just hope they FINALLY get it through their thick heads that second chance / final chance whatever is just a pain. I'm not a big zombie player so if they don't bring that back I'm not going to be too distraught...

2 PLAYER CO-OP FTW.

[DedRok]

If it's just like MW2 but WITHOUT the constant glitches/hacks, i'm totally in.

[Laser04]

How about set killstreaks like in CoD4

[Frenchieee]

How about set killstreaks like in CoD4

Eh idk, I like the variety that the killstreaks give you but they just need to be more balanced..

I like the non-building killstreaks though, like, the kills from the killstreaks can't lead to another, that's a good idea that should be (hopefully) kept.

[pman81]

Right now the only thing I really care about is having the option to automatically mute everybody's Bluetooth headsets. It was in MW2, but why would they omit that option from Black Ops??

[Doogal]

As long as they keep the Riot Shield and Throwing Knife im cool!

[iTTRS]

I find it hard to conceive that the developers would be able to make a "balanced" game with killstreaks, however, at the same time you can't just say "get rid of killstreaks", because then its not really CoD anymore.
I can appreciate variety, but when you are playing on a team the is being spawn trapped on a tiny map, no one on that side is having fun. To remedy this, find a group of people that know what they are doing, since they will never move back to set killstreaks and will likely add/replace some killstreaks. They could do a lot more with barebones playlists, I feel like that barebones community is only getting half of what they ask for.

[robhurlburt]

More info: Horde mode in Spec Ops!

http://content.usatoday.com/communit...rn-warfare-3/1

so is that pretty much equivalent to zombies in BLOPS, but with people and dogs?

[dashrendar]

well, it looks like the rumors are true that Activision will start charging a monthly fee for "extras" in MW3. and you can at least sign up for the beta to try it out and see if it will be worth it.

http://www.callofduty.com/elite

[20VT*J4]

Consumers are used to paying $60 each for videogames that run on consoles like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Now the publisher behind the industry's biggest videogame franchise—"Call of Duty"—is about to find out whether it can get them to pay a monthly bill, too.
Activision Blizzard Inc. plans to launch an online service called Call of Duty Elite this fall that will work with the next major edition of the game, "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3," and future installments of the hyper-realistic combat-simulation game. In a move industry executives describe as a first, Activision plans to charge a monthly subscription fee for the service, which will provide extra content that isn't offered on game discs sold in stores, including downloadable map packs that give players new "Call of Duty" levels to play.


Activision executives said they haven't yet figured out how much to charge for the service, but they expect the cost to be less than fees for comparable online-entertainment services, such as a $7.99-a-month Netflix Inc. movie subscription. Portions of the service will be free, including features inspired by Facebook Inc. that will let "Call of Duty" players meet for online gun battles with others who share various affiliations and interests.
Another feature of the service will give "Call of Duty" players tools, modeled on those from stock-trading websites, to analyze their performance within the game, gauging factors such as which weapons have been most successful for them in killing enemies.
The plan—which comes a week ahead of the videogame industry's big E3 trade show in Los Angeles—is a potentially risky bet by Activision that it can further milk profits from consumers, who could feel the $60 they spend on "Call of Duty" in stores is enough. Charging a monthly subscription fee is more common for multiplayer games that run on personal computers. The most successful of those is "World of Warcraft," a fantasy game from Activision's Blizzard division that has over 11 million subscribers, who typically pay $15 a month for the service.

For players with a Microsoft Corp. Xbox 360 console, a Call of Duty Elite subscription will come on top of the $9.99 monthly fee they typically pay for Xbox Live, the online game service that provides players of all Xbox games to meet and compete against others online. Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 console owners don't pay a monthly fee to play against others online.
The PlayStation Network that provides those multiplayer capabilities recently suffered an outage of more than three weeks after a hacker intrusion on the service. Players of PC versions of "Call of Duty" don't pay to play others online.
In an interview, Activision Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said he isn't worried about pushback from gamers about the Call of Duty Elite fee because players will still be able to compete against each other online without subscribing to the service. While he is coy about many of the offerings that will be included in the service, Mr. Kotick said Call of Duty Elite, and the customer-service operation that will be needed to support it, wouldn't be possible if the service was free. "This is an enormous investment," he said.
"Call of Duty" is in a unique position to seek a monthly fee from customers. The game's previous installment, set during the Cold War and called "Call of Duty: Black Ops," was the best-selling game last year, with global retail sales of more than $1 billion during its first six weeks on shelves.
Since Activision first began publishing the series almost eight years ago, it has accounted for more than $3 billion in retail sales, according to the company. Unlike hit movies, new versions of "Call of Duty" come out every year, with "Modern Warfare 3" due to arrive in stores Nov. 8.
"It's probably the biggest entertainment franchise in the world," said Dennis Durkin, corporate vice president in Microsoft's interactive-entertainment business.

Just as important is the degree to which "Call of Duty" has become the biggest online-game hit on consoles. While many gamers still play the old-fashioned way—by themselves against enemies operated by the game itself—"Call of Duty" has been the most successful console game at getting players to battle other human-operated opponents over the Internet.
Jamie Berger, Activision's vice president of digital for "Call of Duty," said the company has about seven million daily players of the game who spend, on average, about seven full days a year playing the game against others online. Players often use headsets to communicate verbally with other online gamers.
Like other publishers, Activision has earned money selling "Call of Duty" map packs and other digital content for one-time charges, but subscriptions to its new service could give it a continuing way to capitalize on the online popularity of the game.
Rob Dyer, senior vice president of publisher relations at Sony's U.S. games division, said only a few games have the audience loyalty and size to support a subscription service like Call of Duty Elite. Mr. Dyer said he is "very confident" other publishers will follow Activision's lead. "There's money to be made there," he said.

Source


Glad I have no interest in MW3!

[robhurlburt]

guarantee i will not pay for anything other than the game.

IMO $15 map packs are too much for me. As long as i play online like the other games in the series, i don't care.

[quinntendopower1]

sub fee for COD?

what are you guys gonna do?

[gizmopop]

sub fee for COD?

what are you guys gonna do?

Yeah I don't see this going too far.

Connect

Find the players YOU want to play Call of Duty with. Connect with online friends, co-workers, classmates or meet new Call of Duty players.

Doesn't your friends list/recently met list take care of this task?

Compete

Test your skills in tournaments and events designed for players of all skill levels. Compete for awesome virtual and real-world prizes!

Other games have these type of events and they don't charge you for it (aside from buying the game)

Improve

Get the tools to elevate your Call of Duty game. Access your personal stats, view exclusive strategy videos and get detailed intel on maps, weapons, and more.

again other games do most of this without having you pay $$ for it (Bungie had it with Halo)

What else does this service entail? Is it going to fix any issues that should be addressed in the regular game release? Ie lag, which could be solved (or at the least lessen) if they had dedicated servers. Other games have provided modes with servers without the need for a monthly fee...

Kotick says its going to cost money for the customer service operation? Are players going to be paying for an operator at a desk job?

Activision is really gambling here, they could lose the trial, and West and Zampella could effectively block the release of this game completely...

[Laser04]

This just made my choice between BF3 and MW3 that much easier.

[A.Wilder]

If they offered dedicated servers for a buck or two a month, i could see the appeal, but this is bullcrap. I see no point to paying for this service when there are other games that offer a similar experience, or better, for free. BF stats might not be perfect and lacks the ability to show map positioning of kills/deaths, but it is pretty decent and BF3 might address that issue. I just think this "service" is a huge disservice to my wallet.

[dashrendar]

yeah, watch the video that explains this. I don't see anything worth any money.

[DedRok]

If it equals to 30 bucks a year, its okay, considering they usually release two map packs at 15 dollars a piece.

It would be really cool if they added extra guns, mods, attachments, game modes, maps, and skins with future updates... like Team Fortress. ... I'd pay 30-40 bucks for that, but no more than that.

[dashrendar]

If it equals to 30 bucks a year, its okay, considering they usually release two map packs at 15 dollars a piece.

It would be really cool if they added extra guns, mods, attachments, game modes, maps, and skins with future updates... like Team Fortress. ... I'd pay 30-40 bucks for that, but no more than that.

If it includes the maps, then yes that would be ok, but this is Activision, they won't be included.

[dashrendar]

well, here is some more info on COD Elite. It says it will include the maps as long as you are paying the subscription. or you can buy them outright. so if you stop paying sub, you can't play on those maps anymore. I still don't see it as worth it.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...l-network.aspx

[iTTRS]

I am going to guess that this again is merely hype over the upcoming E3 showing. I agree that there is no reason for at least 50-60% of players to ever get this subscription style service. I, personally, hate the thought of reoccuring payments. I like to have one lump payment and then not have to worry. I am finding that this is again just like WoW or Runescape where you can (or in the case of WoW, will) pay a monthly fee to play the game online with added content. However, I was still happy with MW2, until that hackers killed the multiplayer and that was when I finally broke down and bought Black Ops. If that had never happened, I bet that my friends and I would still be playing MW2 and still not have bought Black Ops at all.

It really annoys me when companies/developers try to nickel and dime their customers, when all it is going to do is lead to a loss in sales. Needless to say, I have yet to buy the maps.
I wish we could go back to the days where developers would put out free content after the games release to revive play rather than trying to make it into a money sucking machine.

[Euro Hooligan]

http://kotaku.com/5805959/the-modern...ew-killstreaks

[dashrendar]

A FAQ has been released to clear up a few things about Elite. After the FAQ though, its hard to tell what will be free and what won't be.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...-with-faq.aspx

[Laser04]

A FAQ has been released to clear up a few things about Elite. After the FAQ though, its hard to tell what will be free and what won't be.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...-with-faq.aspx

Nice way of getting your post count up

[dashrendar]

Nice way of getting your post count up

well it is coming out to start on black ops. but officially out with MW3

[Laser04]

well it is coming out to start on black ops. but officially out with MW3

This I did not know

[n0rdicalex.]

that must have been a black ops update - to include the ELITE logo in place of the Escalation map pack logo.

i signed up for the beta, though.

[GTIuppin]

if we are going to see more city battlegrounds, for once, i would like to see destructable environments and buildings with more than 2 floors open. i get tired of 6 months down the road knowing exactly where everyone is sniping from. imagine like a five story building at the end of a street with all windows open plus the roof. im hoping bf3 is like this.