Home Gaming Battlefield 4 gets new lag-reducing netcode patch

Battlefield 4 gets new lag-reducing netcode patch

3 min read
25

Bertleferld

In five or so months, it’ll be a year since Battlefield 4 was released – and for many, it’s still a bit of an unplayable mess. On the one hand, we should be a little thankful that DICE is still trying their best to fix it, but on the other, they should never have released the game in the state they did. They’ve haemorrhaged enough goodwill that people are hesitant to buy the next Battlefield game. That aside, the newest patch for Battlefield 4 should make it a smoother experience for many, provided they have fast enough internet connectivity.

The new update, due later this week, reduces server-side lag by updating player information more frequently. It’s an option that’s off by default, so something you’ll have to switch on to see any benefit of. It’ll require that players have at least a 1mb connection.

It works by updating clients with more frequent data the server in a certain radius around the player, which DICE calls a "high frequency bubble".

Here it is in action. Hopefully, it  makes the game a smoother experience for disillusioned Battlefield players.


Here’s a full list of the upcoming changes, too.

PC

  • Improved/reduced explosion induced camera shake
  • Character collision improvements
  • Fix to reduce object damage mismatch between client/server.
  • Fix explosion packs not being able to be shot sometimes
  • Improvements for client side packet loss
  • Client crash fixes
  • AMD Mantle multi-GPU improvements
  • Carrier Assault game mode reports bug fix
  • High Frequency Network update
    – Added High frequency "bubble" updating player movement, stance, rotation, damage and projectiles at a separate rate on foot and in vehicles
    – Added option to control client side update rate setting

PlayStation 3

  • Improved/reduced explosion induced camera shake
  • Rental server bug fixes
  • Character collision improvements
  • Reduced object damage mismatch between client/server.
  • Fix for explosion pack not being able to be shot sometimes
  • Improvements for client side packet loss
  • Added controller option to swap functionality of the bumper and trigger buttons
  • Carrier – Invisible walls stopping bullets fix

Xbox 360

  • Improved/reduced explosion induced camera shake
  • Rent A Server bug fixes
  • Character collision improvements
  • Reduced object damage mismatch between client/server.
  • Fix for explosion pack not being able to be shot sometimes
  • Improvements for client side packet loss
  • Added controller option to swap functionality of the bumper and trigger buttons
  • Physics optimization for Naval Strike Wave Breaker rocks
  • Carrier – Invisible walls stopping bullets fix
  • Fix for issue where clients with low bandwidth would not be able to enter squad menu.

PlayStation 4

  • Improved/reduced explosion induced camera shake
  • Rental server bug fixes
  • Character collision improvements
  • Fix to reduce object damage mismatch between client/server.
  • Fix explosion packs not being able to be shot sometimes
  • Improvements for client side packet loss
  • Added controller option to swap functionality of the bumper and trigger buttons
  • Physics optimization for Naval Strike Wave Breaker rocks
  • Carrier – Invisible walls stopping bullets fix
  • High Frequency Network update
    – Added High frequency "bubble" updating player movement, stance, rotation, damage and projectiles at a separate rate on foot and in vehicles
    – Added option to control client side update rate setting

Xbox One

  • Improved/reduced explosion induced camera shake
  • Rental server bug fixes
  • Character collision improvements
  • Fix to reduce object damage mismatch between client/server.
  • Fix explosion packs not being able to be shot sometimes
  • Improvements for client side packet loss
  • Added controller option to swap functionality of the bumper and trigger buttons
  • Physics optimization for Naval Strike Wave Breaker rocks
  • Carrier – Invisible walls stopping bullets fix
  • Fixed issue when using standby in Campaign
  • Fixed issue when using standby and reconnecting to game servers
  • Fixed issue with snapped application and matchmaking
  • Playgroup Matchmaking fix for Xbox One
  • Fixed incorrect error message for lost Xbox Live connection
  • Fixed issue for user name mismatch in rental server, ingame scoreboard and Squad Join menus
  • High Frequency Network update
    – Added High frequency "bubble" updating player movement, stance, rotation, damage and projectiles at a separate rate on foot and in vehicles
    – Added option to control client side update rate setting

Last Updated: June 4, 2014

25 Comments

  1. Sageville

    June 4, 2014 at 12:48

    I’ve played alot of BF4 on PS4, I don’t see the “mess” that is mentioned, is that on a specific platform or am I missing the bugs?

    Reply

    • iAmWeasel

      June 4, 2014 at 13:41

      No its just one of those ideas that has picked up momentum “BF4 is broken” has become part of gamer culture. There have been a few issues with BF4 but 95% of it was resolved within the first 6 weeks. This lag reducing patch isn’t there to fix a big problem.. lag on BF4 has been exactly the same as it was on BF3. This is coming from someone who has clocked up over 150 hours on both games.

      Reply

      • Steven Correa-Owensby

        January 16, 2015 at 14:54

        IDK why you [Can’t] see the Dif. Coming from someone who has Over 1800 hrs on the Game, I tested it, and See the difference Clearly This isn’t some Pulled Out Of The Air ‘Concept’…

        Reply

    • Aries

      June 4, 2014 at 13:57

      neither have i and i got it on pc, maybe when the game came out yes, but havent had problems at all in a few months

      Reply

      • Kromas

        June 4, 2014 at 15:16

        Must be just the Mweb servers then. #Impala lags out every minute or so. Make firefights pretty damn horrible.

        Reply

        • loftie

          June 4, 2014 at 15:45

          yeah, I dont play on the mweb servers anymore..I only join the BmW clan servers, seem to perform better

          Reply

          • Aries

            June 4, 2014 at 15:54

            dont play much on the mweb servers, but the new lockers one ok, still lags now and then, but digital tag gaming servers are good, as well as the BmW ones esp the hardcore one, any 62 player server have that potential to lag, in the bottlenecks esp on lockers

    • Charl van der Merwe

      June 5, 2014 at 08:08

      Hyperbole gets more readers, pretty lame. It’s quite prevalent in many of the articles I have noticed.The comments just follow suite.

      Reply

  2. RinceofThis

    June 4, 2014 at 12:52

    Lulz. And they are steadily going on about their next game…

    Reply

  3. Admiral Chief Kilo

    June 4, 2014 at 12:58

    So shooting is faster than jumping?

    *MIND BLOWN*

    Reply

  4. Kromas

    June 4, 2014 at 12:59

    Yeah … made my game worse. Also this “netcode” is ripped off from DayZ code also known as the network bubble and that is not even working right at this point.

    Reply

  5. bluegoon

    June 4, 2014 at 13:01

    Oh this is just horrible news for anyone playing at 200-220ms

    Reply

    • Mark

      June 4, 2014 at 13:29

      Anyone playing with a 200-220ms should either look for a server closer/better connection or not play an FPS online

      Reply

  6. Alien Emperor Trevor

    June 4, 2014 at 13:01

    Help help I’m trapped in the bubble & can’t get out!

    Reply

  7. Wyzak

    June 4, 2014 at 13:12

    off by default = fail.

    Reply

    • MakeItLegal

      June 4, 2014 at 13:22

      Well said

      Reply

  8. MakeItLegal

    June 4, 2014 at 13:22

    After a hell of a rocky start with battlefield 4 I am very nervous to pick up another battlefield game …. Like damage has be done Ea

    Reply

  9. HisDivineOrder

    June 4, 2014 at 13:23

    This is why DICE needs to drop the decaying platforms (ie., consoles) and focus on only PC’s. And they need to not be distracted with shinies like Mantle. They need to focus on only one version of the game, the DirectX version that everyone can play.

    Do this and they can get around to making their netcode usable. Do this not and look what happens.

    Reply

    • giannis

      October 17, 2014 at 17:22

      some people do not like to go home after a 10 hour busy office day in front of a damn PC monitor, and stay another 5 hours in front of another PC monitor your majesty, hence the console gaming. your majesty

      Reply

  10. The Gaming Alcoholic

    June 4, 2014 at 17:39

    For all the issues this game has had, I’ve had a pretty smooth BF4 experience on the One since December. The Xbox 360 version however, was quite problematic from the time I had it going from its launch all the way to January. In fact, it was nightmarish some nights.

    Given that Visceral Games is handling Hardline, and have a pretty good track record even under the Death Star that is EA, I’ll still pick that up. At least its something that won’t be delayed into 2015 like every other title.

    Reply

  11. Charl van der Merwe

    June 5, 2014 at 08:07

    LOL, ‘Unplayable mess’, the hyperbole on this website is getting pretty tiresome.I had issues in the first 2 weeks,bf4 been great since then. No other online shooter comes close to it.

    Do you always have to over exaggerate to get people to read your articles ?

    Reply

    • Mimic

      August 29, 2014 at 14:13

      your a cock….pull ya head out ya dads ass you silly cunt and take ya moms root out ya mouth

      Reply

  12. Jordy Cruz

    June 7, 2014 at 05:39

    Problem= most recent update doesn’t let server admins AND owners kick players with clan tags (I’ve experienced this myself). If you ask me I think server owners should get a refund or a few extra days on there server do to this problem. #PS3

    Reply

  13. Efunkmc

    June 17, 2014 at 05:03

    so where is the fix for the story mode loosen saved data on xbox one? ? ?

    Reply

  14. PWNYluv

    January 4, 2015 at 04:56

    They want hacks so n00bs can get killeronies. Also they like HackerBots because they can ban cheaters and they need to buy the game again.

    Reply

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