Battlefield 4 developer addresses fan concerns about the shooter’s ‘netcode issues’

More than four months since launch, DICE is still trying to fix Battlefield 4.

The developer revealed today that it is still focusing most of its efforts on improving the network performance of its modern-military shooter. Fixing the netcode issues, which includes a range of problems, is one of DICE’s “top priorities,” according to a blog post on its Battlelog site. The developer has already spent the weeks since launching the game in October working on patches to remove bugs, but players are still regularly reporting a subpar experience. Despite its problems, Battlefield 4 continues to sell extremely well.

 “We are working on fixing glitches in your immediate interactions with the game world: the way you move and shoot, the feedback when you’re hit, and the way other players’ actions are shown on your screen,” reads a DICE blog post.

The studio revealed that it has already found and removed a number of glitches in the game’s latency-compensation system, which is software that makes online games run smoothly as they receive intermittent packets of data from an online server. These bugs caused things like rubber banding where the game drags the player back to where it thinks it is like an elastic rope is tugging on the character.

http://youtu.be/II7eSNjEW-w

DICE is also fixing or investigating the delay of the camera that happens after you die in the game, increasing the rate at which its servers send out update data, and an issue that catapults players at high speed when they are sprinting that results in an instant death.

“We want to assure you that we are constantly investigating, or already in the process of updating, all these items and several more that you’ve had concerns with – and that we will continue to do so with your help,” reads the blog.

While Battlefield 4 fans are likely frustrated that a game they purchased more than four months ago still has issues, DICE is at least doing what it can to keep people informed about its progress. BF4 was the fourth best-selling physical game of 2013 at retail, and it’s an important franchise for publisher Electronic Arts. Fixing these problems and keeping fans happy is likely a priority to ensure the continued health of the Battlefield brand.