Possible patch/fix for problems which stem from the ™ in the game's title?
Hello. I, like many others, are getting DirectX issues when trying to launch Battlefield on a non-English system locale (usually on Windows 8 and 8.1). The reason is because within the hex data for bf3.exe, there is a unicode ™ in the title, and as a result, the systems set to non-English locales are incapable of reading it, ultimately leading to the game's inability to launch. The most common solution for this is to switch the computer's system locale to an English one. Unfortunately, for me and many others, this fix is not good enough due to the fact that there are several programs that we use on a regular basis that require the system to be set to Japanese/Korean/Chinese/etc locale in order to run properly. While there are player made patches and fixes for this issue, people who try them are reporting punkbuster issues due to the fact that these patches often involve direct editing of bf3.exe with a hex editor.
Am i sure that this is a problem with the system locale?
Yes, despite it stating that it's a DirectX error, it's actually due to system locale. I'm running WIndows 8.1 on my laptop. The game works when switching over to an English locale, but when I switch back to JP, it stops working again.
"Is it across all Operating systems?"
No. As far as I know, it's a Windows 8 and 8.1 exclusive issue. I have a desktop running Windows 7 that will run the game just fine on JP system locale.
"Why don't you just play the game on your desktop computer, then?"
My laptop is more powerful, plus I have a separate apartment away from home for school where I don't have access to my desktop. Also, it's a solution that won't work for many other people who only have the one Windows 8./8.1 computer to play on.
"Just change your locale when you want to play."
Sorry if I sound rude, but do you want to restart your computer twice every single time you play the game? Do you want to restart your computer twice when you just want to play a quick game before work or something? What if you're playing games with friends and you're not just sticking with only playing BF3 (Well, assume you've got other games you want to play that can't be run on English locales properly)? Exacty. Plus, like I said, I and many others have other programs we regularly use that require other system locales to work.
It's not even just NA players who are having this problem. People in South East Asia are complaining that copies of BF3 and BF4 for their region won't run because of this issue.
Alright, finally, on to the point. Will there be a patch or fix for this? Will therer ever be a fix the problem that the ™ causes? The easiest solution would be to remove it, and just substitute something else in for the ™, or just remove it and leave it as is. I dunno, it's an issue that I feel needs to be addressed. There are quite possibly many future sales being lost in certain countries because they know the game isn't gonna work properly without it being a pain in the arse whenever they try to play.
