Newly Released BF3 Server Admin Settings Reveals Options That Make BF2 Vets Happy

There were a lot of concerns voiced about BF3 coming from BF2 veterans, especially during the beta. Health regeneration for both players and vehicles, spawning on all squad members, and 3D spotting were just some of the "improvements" made to BF3 for the beta that had fans of the true Battlefield series (not Bad Company) shaking their fists.

Well, the server administration guides have been released and guess what? Most of these despised changes are now options to be ignored with a simple "0" or "false."

Here's an example of how some BF2 vets are already preparing to set their servers:

vars.friendlyFire – when set, people can inflict damage on others in the same team.
On.
vars.killCam – when set, a killed player gets to see a close-up of his/hers killer for a few seconds.
Off.
vars.crossHair – when set, guns have crosshairs in the center of the screen.
Off.
vars.3dSpotting – when set, spotted targets are marked with icons in the 3D world.
Forever Off.
vars.3pCam - when set, 3rd person vehicle cameras are enabled.
Off(maybe).
vars.nameTag – when set, nametags are rendered over players’ heads in the 3D world.
Off(if for enemies only).
vars.regenerateHealth – when set, health regeneration is enabled.
Forever Off.
vars.vehicleSpawnDelay – controls the delay between vehicle spawn; specified in percent (100% = normal).
50%
vars.onlySquadLeaderSpawn – when set, players can only spawn on the squad leader.
Forever On.

They are already talking about naming their servers "BF2 Mode." This is good news for DICE because it's going to get praise from some of the fans it pissed off during the beta. And, while these settings may not include everything the veterans didn't like, such as restoring BF2's jet and helicopter physics, it goes a long way.

Perhaps the endless threads posted on Battlelog got someone's attention? Or, was this simply the plan from the start for DICE? If it's the latter, why didn't someone simply come out and say, "Hey, these things will be options for server admins, don't worry," and put an end to negative buzz?

Bud-da bum ba-da bum. Bud-da bum ba-da dum.