Over the weekend we saw news reported that stated the Battlefield 3 beta had been hacked to offer support for 128 players, which sounds pretty cool when you think about it, and with more than 100,000 players testing the game we’re sure some of these would love that feature.

Then you got to remember that servers running the Operation Metro map in conquest with this many players are unofficial, and those that tried these games found a lot of lag. Since this news we’ve seen an official announcement about this issue, which can be found here on the official channel.

Now 250 Players – After this story broke we saw a lot of feedback from the BF3 beta players, and some people shared images that proved 250 player games were being reported, as seen in the image above, and this opened some questions about these hacks being a good idea. Players will not want the beta shut down, but it’s the view of a few players that BF3 hacks like these show what the game is capable of and should be seen as a positive.

We’re not sure if we agree with this line of thought, but share yours in the comments. Do you think games with this many players would be too crowded?

More About: Battlefield 3, beta

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Some people are asking where the innovation is in Battlefield 3, and having played the game on the PS3 at an event in London last week and one of our team getting hands-on with the PC version, we noticed massive differences before the beta went live.

The PC beta has blown a lot of people away with much better graphics and some people feel more destruction, although 5 and 6 year old machines are never going to look as good as a new PC. There still are some complaints that the soldiers look skinny like they did in BF2, and the motion technology is either not in multiplayer or it’s not performing well.

Frostbite 2.0 will be enough for many gamers to purchase BF3, with environments looking really nice, although big differences have been seen in character models on the Xbox 360 and PS3, and when compared to PC. Some blog posts point out that the PS3 version is better than the Xbox 360, although we’re not too sure there are any notable differences.

I’ve seen a lot of feedback for the console versions, which will be the most popular, and there are a lot of issues from players that hope the beta are nowhere near the finished product. It’s almost certain there will be a lot of improvements, but considering how close we’re to a release date, the changes are not likely to improve enough for some people.

Our earlier findings, after some hands-on time, showed that the Battlefield 3 destruction was disappointing and obviously dialed down by DICE. Since then we have tested a few of platforms and found you can make big craters in the ground, and with C-4 it is possible to blow big holes in apartments and the subway, but the limitations come when in the park. So it is still limited but you can create damage in certain areas.

How do you feel the Battlefield 3 beta differs by PS3, PC and Xbox 360? Are you happy with what you seen so far? You can see nearly an hour of Battlefield 3 beta gameplay on Caspian Border here, which is PC gameplay.

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This is just what RockMelt had on their mind, and an article here on the official blog explains what the RockMelt beta browser can do for you. The tag line explains that the social browser is “designed around you” and hopes to bring a closer connection to browsing the web, and sharing information with friends.

RockMelt beta is said to be fast and secure, which is based on Google’s Chrome browser thanks to using the source code as RockMelt’s base. They are currently giving out invitations, although expect numbers to be limited on a first come basis, so get in early if you do not mind a few bugs along the way.

Read the full article to see how RockMelt is backed by the cloud, and gives you true personalization. Facebook and Twitter Friends will be just a click away in the new social browser. Have you had an invitation? Let us know your thoughts on their beta.

More About: beta, RockMelt, web browser

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My colleague Jamie Pert has commented on how IE9 loaded up some popular websites such as Facebook pretty quick. It also seems that Microsoft has taken ideas from rival browsers, but this could be Microsoft’s best browser to date. The Beta download is only 39MB in size so doesn’t take long to download to your system.

As with all Beta downloads there will be problems, as it is not the finished product. Have you downloaded IE9? And have you spotted any problems? Tell us what you think of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9 so far.

More About: beta, Internet Explorer 9, microsoft

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Final Fantasy XIV beta has started but was quickly suspended shortly after, and those that managed to get their beta key are reporting disappointment by finding the site down, wondering “why send a key if you can’t use it?”

Over the last few hours we have seen updates from Square Enix on the progress of fixing the problems, the latest statement said congestion with the Square Enix Account Management System was easing. For those that are still having problems, Square Enix advises you to “wait and try again later”.

The popularity of FFXIV Open Beta has put a large demand on their servers, and as part of countermeasures against the congestion, Square Enix had restricted the acquisition of registration codes, although this has now been lifted.

Some of our readers are reporting problems with their key, after being forwarded to a maintenance page, some users now have invalid beta keys and cannot apply again. Have you been affected in this way?

Reports of being stuck in a “loop” from one problem to another seem to be a big issue as well. Let us know where you are with the open beta, are things getting better now?

You can get the latest updates from Square Enix at support.na.square-enix.com.

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At the time of writing the error page is still there instead of a login box, and gamers have reported their problems with being locked out of the beta.

We have a little tip for those still locked out, one quick Google search for “Square Enix Account Management” will take you to a secure login page, which can be found here. This is an account management page that is different from the link in the email. You will already need your code.

Once at that page, you can enter your ID and Square Enix password. Let us know if your still getting problems trying to login.

UPDATE:
We are getting reports that applications for the FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test have been temporarily suspended, and you will have to wait until they are ready to accept new applications.

More About: beta, ffxiv, Square-Enix

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