Download update to play Jan 30, 2014

[Qicmee]

Game + browser required an update installed before game would load.
Server is running fine, except for low player count.

If I read correctly, the game update was titled "northern strike".
- That was an unexpected name. It's not a known DLC for BF4 (2142 had it).

Speculation: If EA was to issue a free DLC pack as an apology, it's reasonable that it wouldn't be a DLC that Premium subscribers have already purchased.

[juneau]

We’ve started rolling out a new Battlefield 4 game update on PC. You may experience some downtime during this rollout, as we are also updating the game servers. As usual, it will take a few hours before the majority of servers are updated.

This update is mainly designed to prepare the game for the upcoming release of the expansion pack Battlefield 4 Second Assault. Find out all about the new Mantle renderer in this news post [battlelog.battlefield.com]. We will announce the release date for this expansion pack later.

This update also includes the first release of Mantle support for Battlefield 4 on PC. This update also addresses various other items, detailed in the patch notes below.

If the game update doesn't start automatically for you, you can trigger it by going into the Origin Client, right clicking Battlefield 4 and selecting "Check for updates".

Jan 30 PC Game Update Notes

Mantle Support
The new Mantle renderer has been added in Battlefield 4. Most players can expect a performance increase by using this new low-level graphics API. Check out this news post [battlelog.battlefield.com] for the full details on Mantle, what the requirements are to run it, and how to enable it.

CPU/GPU performance and monitoring
-Tweaked and improved CPU multi-core utilization to try and avoid stuttering and low framerate due to stalls that happened on some CPU and OS configurations.
-Users can now configure and control themselves how many CPU cores should be used in the game with the new “Thread.MaxProcessorCount” settings in User.cfg.
-“Render.DrawScreenInfo 1” now also shows information about which CPU and GPU is in the system, how many GPUs & CPU cores are used and which renderer (DirectX 11 or Mantle) is active
-Added new “PerfOverlay.FrameFileLogEnable” command that records frame times on CPU & GPU and logs out to a .csv file
-AMD Catalyst driver 13.12 (or later) is now recommended instead of 13.9
-Enabled tile-based compute shader lighting optimization on Nvidia for improved GPU performance (already active on AMD GPUs)
-Improved performance with rendering and spotlights for all GPUs, primarily in in-door environments

DMR Balance Tweaks
-Increased the damage of all DMRs across all ranges. Specifically, damage has been increased at long ranges to allow three-hit kills against unarmored opponents. Additionally, reduced the penalty to accuracy for sustained DMR fire, allowing more rapid follow up shots in combat. The amount of the damage increase varies from weapon to weapon, according to its intended range, rate of fire, and damage. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of DMRs in combat, and determine if additional action is needed to make DMRs a viable mid to long range weapon.

Other Items
-Greatly reduced the risk of crosshairs disappearing, which would also result in hit markers disappearing
-Added a headshot icon on the killcard. This should help identify instances where players are correctly killed by one shot
-Fixed an issue in Squad Deathmatch where the “Win/Lose” text was overlapping
-Fixed an issue with players using an exploit for the SOFLAM
-Fixed an issue with players using an exploit for the MAV
-Fixed the gameplay code to properly track the FOV (Field of View) changes in the options menu
-Fixed an issue where chat would break when entering "false" or "true" in the chat window
-Fixed an out-of-helicopter glitch in Air Superiority where players could spawn on the ground and play as infantry
-Fixed the misaligned crosshairs on the T90 MBT
-Added setting to tweak joystick dead zone
-Various minor crash fixes

Release log.

[zackman40]

really still didn't fix the MAA and those active radar missles......

[wigz]

really still didn't fix the MAA and those active radar missles......

They're never going to nerf that shit enough till it has been removed from the game. MAA is fine, but for the love of god require lock-on's or sustained laser designation... Active Radar missiles are the worst part of BF4. Everytime I'm in a MAA, I have absolutely no issue shooting down helicopters, and planes(faster, so it's harder)... I have no idea how they figured it'd be a good idea: aa missiles with unlimited range, automatically lock-on in a cone area, and provide little to no warning to the enemy pilot. Even with ECM on, the missiles still hit... I've done countless times while in a jet doing an attack run on a MAA. I'll be in my laser guided bomb scope, fire off a pair of bombs, watch the aa turret move... pop ecm... two puffs come out of the MAA... and guess what... both still hit without regard for ECM being on.

[baconoclock]

AS VAL can be unlocked now. Not sure if it s a bug or not. Here is how to do it since battlelog doesnt say how.

http://imgur.com/mt6CqoF

[zackman40]

They did the samething for the pre patch for china rising, the weapons were unlockable but the assignments never registered. Only difference now is the as val is the only weapon we can unlock without the actual dlc maps, the rest of the new weapons require you to do something on a specific map. Also reading the battlelog forums there seems to be a game crash if you spawn in a tank or apc, haven't actually got to play the patch yet.

[linemanstud]

aa missiles with unlimited range, automatically lock-on in a cone area, and provide little to no warning to the enemy pilot. Even with ECM on, the missiles still hit... I've done countless times while in a jet doing an attack run on a MAA. I'll be in my laser guided bomb scope, fire off a pair of bombs, watch the aa turret move... pop ecm... two puffs come out of the MAA... and guess what... both still hit without regard for ECM being on.

ECM doesn't get rid of the missiles unless you are right along the ground. The missiles just continue to circle the ECM area (particularly noticeable with choppers). Also, they don't have unlimited range, they have the same range as your laser guided bombs. Not to defend it too much (even though its my favorite vehicle and weapon), but it does have its limitations

[Dead...Again]

IMO the easy way to fix active radar is to limit the range. After the missile travels a certain distance (500m for example) if it hasn't locked onto anything it just explodes.

[Schultzy]

They apparently released mantle with this.

And yet, AMD has yet to release the drivers.

Go figure.