The air was thick with jets and helis as we asked our Premium members to perform the most air kills in Armored Kill in our latest Premium exclusive competition. Out of the giant furball, the following 15 players came out on top.

Congratulations on winning our competition, and we will reach out to you soon via email with information on how to redeem your prize: A limited edition, signed and numbered lithograph featuring artwork from Battlefield 3. Thanks to everyone who joined!

And the winners are…
(in finishing place per platform, referring to their ingame soldier names)

PlayStation 3 winners
1st place: oSouthernLights from the USA
2nd place: GeneralMosquito from Canada
3rd place: snads5531M1 from Japan
4th place: budmcmillan from the USA
5th place: Lubu20 from the USA

Xbox 360 winners
1st place: xBRx xTACTICSx from Canada
2nd place: VeryStonedSloth from the USA
3rd place: x SoLdiier x94 from the USA
4th place: DFK Dopey from the USA
5th place: Dynamic Crank from the Netherlands

PC winners
1st place: DiracSpinor2000 from the UK
2nd place: sv3ns0nic from Germany
3rd place: spitfiresiemion from Poland
4th place: ArmyOfPharaohs from the US
5th place: 1ThePunisher1 from Russia

Congratulations again to our winners! If you are one of our winners from earlier competitions, we have not forgotten about you. We will reach out to you via email shortly with instructions on how to redeem your prize. Thanks for your patience!

Our new server update has started rolling out for all formats. This update has a number of minor fixes, tweaks, and additions primarily aimed at increasing server and matchmaking stability. Read on for the full details.

The new server update just started to roll out. It will take about 6 hours to complete on consoles and at least 24 hours before a large majority of PC servers have taken the new update.

Battlefield 3 Game Server R33 change list
1) (Server renters on PC only) The “rcon” server info command now reports external IP and port as well as information regarding whether the backend queue is enabled or not.

2) Fixed an occasional issue where console servers changed max player counts incorrectly.

3) We now enforce a minimum player count of 4 on both PC and consoles (PC previously had no such limitation while console servers had 2 players as the limit) to be able to exit preround on Ranked servers. You will still be able to move around freely in preround, but the match doesn’t officially start (and thus no stats are affected) until at least 4 players have joined. This goes for both PC and console servers. This will make it harder to easily use Ranked servers as boosting servers.

4) “Hardcore no map” is now a proper preset on both the server side and backend. This means console users can now filter between hardcore servers with and/or without the “no map” setting.

5) We fixed a bug where server admins could exploit the system to effectively become immortal on his/her server.

6) We introduced a number of server stability improvements which should lead to less crashes throughout. Two specific crashes that we have eliminated are:
A) Servers running 9 or more maps that would crash when loading the 9th map
B) Servers running high player counts in combination with very high ticket count where end game reports would stall out the server

Let us know what you think about this update in the comments section below. Also, stay tuned for our big client patch in conjunction with the next expansion pack Battlefield 3: Aftermath.

Yesterday, we announced that our full PC game Battlefield 1942 is now available for free on Origin. Today, we just wanted to let you know we have made available an electronic concept art booklet with original Battlefield 1942 design sketches.You can download this anniversary concept art booklet here. Be prepared for a hefty download — it’s 150 megabytes, but we think it’s worth it. Enjoy!

To celebrate our 10th anniversary and two millionth Premium member, we are giving away Battlefield 1942 for free! Relive it if you’re an old-time fan. See where it all started if you’re new to the series. You can download Battlefield 1942 right now on Origin at: http://origin.com/demos and learn more about this DICE classic here: http://blogs.battlefield.com/2012/11/download-bf1942-for-free/

If you have any questions about this release of Battlefield 1942, see the FAQ below. To discuss the game, head to our newly opened Battlelog forum.

Battlefield 1942 Origin Digital Download FAQ
Q: Is it really free?
A: Yes! To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Battlefield 1942, we are offering the full game at no cost. We want everyone to be able to see where it all started.

Q: When is it available on Origin?
A: It’s live now under the free games and demos section! Head to this URL to download it: http://origin.com/demos

Q: Where can I learn more about Battlefield 1942?
A: At this recently updated product page: http://www.battlefield.com/battlefield-1942 and at this games page on dice.se: http://dice.se/games/battlefield-1942.

Q: Is this a remake of Battlefield 1942?
A: No. This is the original game Battlefield 1942, for the first time available as a digital download on Origin.

Q: Does this free digital download version include an of the expansion packs originally released for Battlefield 1942 (The Road to Rome and Secret Weapons of WWII)?
A: No.

Q: Can I play online against players who have the original disc-based version?
A: No. This Origin digital download version can only be played against other players who are using the same version. But since it’s free for everyone, everyone can download their own copy of the game. This version of the game will only show applicable (new) servers in the server browser.

Q: What are the differences between this version and the original disc-based version of Battlefield 1942?
A: No practical differences. We have done some under the hood work to make this game from 2002 work as a digital download title on Origin.

Q: Can I run a server for the game?
A: Yes, you can easily run a server from the front end menu within the game client. This server will be visible to all other players via the server browser.

Q: Can I run a dedicated server for the game?
A: Yes, you can run a dedicated server by running the file “DedicatedServer.exe”. It is located in the folder where you installed Battlefield 1942 through Origin. This will present you with all available settings, maps and modes for you to customize before pressing the button “launch server”. This server will be visible to all other players via the server browser.

Q: Do you have official servers set up?
A: We are setting up new servers specifically for this release of the game. You should find them by searching for the phrase “EA PUBLIC”.

Q: I have problems connecting to online games
A: Please note that a sudden surge of players into Battlefield 1942 may make online play temporarily unstable. If this happens, please try again later.

Q: Can I use this version of the game together with old Battlefield 1942 mods?
A: This is untested and we cannot guarantee any mod functionality. Sporadic testing leads us to believe that Desert Combat 0.7 works, as well as Eve of Destruction 2.5. For more discussion on popular mods, head to the new Battlelog forums we have set up specifically for this release of Battlefield 1942. Please share your findings on which mods work and which do not.

Q: Will I need to manually patch this version of the game?
A: No. This version includes any updates needed. If we were to update this version of the game in the future (this is not likely), we will do so via Origin.

Q: I have a question that is not answered here. Where do I go?
A: Please note that while we are proud to present this game to all of our fans after 10 years, we are not able to actively support it from a customer support standpoint. Tailoring this disc based game to work as a digital download title has been a labor of love from us at DICE, and we are very proud to be able to offer this classic to everyone for free.

However, we are not able to support it the same way we are supporting Battlefield 3 and its expansion packs. We are hoping that those who find Battlefield 1942 interesting will have patience with any issues they experience and that they will help each other on the EA Answer HQ at http://answers.ea.com/.

We are also opening up a new forum section on Battlelog where you can discuss Battlefield 1942 and specifically this Origin release of the game.

* Conditions apply; please visit http://www.battlefield.com/battlefield-1942 for complete details.

November 5 update: Congratulations to our PC players who breached the magic 2 million marker in air kills this Friday. PS3 and Xbox 360 players have also reached the required number and have had their Death Dealer dog tag unlocked.

Full info on this completed community challenge is available in this earlier News post. Thanks for playing!