BF3 Longevity among the =GC= Community

[XrunawayX]

Now that Campaign 1 is over, I'm curious to hear the thoughts of the veterans on what you think the longevity of BF3 will be among the GC community. Do you anticipate 6, 7, 8+ campaigns over the next couple years, or do you think interest might taper off somewhere along the way? Since I'm new to GC, there's no way for me to have much of a gut feeling about this. My hope is that it will be around for a long while, but I also know how some games can lose their momentum after the initial "buzz" has worn off.

[Zaitsev Jr.]

GC is not about Battlefield 3 ... it is about GC - The community.

Yeah, BF3 currently serves as the game part, but so did Bf 1942, BF2 and BBC ...
And i believe it's safe to assume, that even if a particular game dies out, another one will take its place,
but GC will still be there

As for BF3's lifespan ... or life cycle, as i like to call it ... unless there are some severe improvements on Dice's and EA's side, which is hard to imagine, given their mainstream posture in regards to economical requirements, i would expect BF3 to fade even faster than all other sequels of Battlefield we have seen so far.

But then, i would not be surprised, if EA suffers another moment of clarity, like when they signed on Trauma ... we'll see

[Goggles]

We managed to get a good 13 campaigns out of BF2. Some of those lasted a fairly short amount of time (a month or two), and some of those were incredibly epic, full-server months-long campaigns. Ultimately, it boils down to everyone having fun

I can see GC's BF3 stuff going 8+ campaigns. It'll take hard work though. We'll need Generals, High Commanders, Squad Leaders, etc. We'll need TAs. We'll need creativity and dedication and focus. But it's all for fun and all very doable

And heck, like Zaitsev said, we're about being a community. I've played other random games with my fellow GCers over the past, and if BF3 doesn't hold up I'm sure we can keep on going with something new and different.

=GC= has been around for a long time, and it's not going anywhere. Yay!

[Ash2Dust]

No real prediction is possible. If no new maps, I'd guess about a year, alot longer than BFBC2 or BFV campaigns. The telling factor is when new recruits cant be found, when no one wants to be a general, when no one steps up to make sure their squad is doing what its suppose to. As the buzz wear off, people will disappear. But some will just revert to only playing battledays to play a common game amongst friends. GC tries to fill the common holes in the games. Such as a command structure, squads with orders, TS communication of everyone during the battleday, a new strategy campaign system every camp, that you will never get on pub play. Theres also rules to try to create fairness. But BF3 is new and rules will probably be slow coming as they are the TA's least loved aspect of administration and has created intense fires of interpretation no matter how well defined.
The biggest barriers I see is the willingness of GC'ers to play other modes in the campaigns and Dice's ability to add new maps at a low cost. Those add more freshness and depth to campaigns.

[Goggles]

Excellent points, Ash. BF2 did have the luxury of level making / mod tools. We used A LOT of custom maps.

[XrunawayX]

Just to clarify myself I was in no way questioning the longevity of GC, only the longevity of BF3 as the game GC is currently playing. I updated the thread title to better clarify that question.

Hopefully EA will allow the game to evolve and it will maintain it's playability for months/years to come.