DICE doubles down on Specialists with response to Battlefield 2042 beta feedback • Eurogamer.net

DICE is firmly behind its replacement of Classes with Specialists in Battlefield 2042 as it shares a long list of key takeaways from Open Beta.

The studio also released a new video revealing the five Specialists remaining for the game’s launch.

“… we see Specialists as the next evolution of the classic Battlefield class system that will not only allow individual players to have a greater impact, but will elevate cooperating teams to new heights,” DICE said in his blog post.

Specialists received a lot of criticism during the beta, with fans claiming they limited teamwork, especially since you weren’t able to see which Specialist your teammates were using, and called the return of the traditional class system.

In response, DICE said that much of the perceived inability to work as a team was due to the user interface: “… -the game team communications that were missing during the open beta are vital to gameplay. “

DICE explained that it disabled “certain essential components” of the Battlefield 2042 user interface for Open Beta in order to remove “debilitating” (and now resolved) bugs. DICE also decided to continue working on some of the UI components for launch as the studio “branched out” in August.

DICE insisted that since players weren’t able to play as the 10 Open Beta Specialists, they weren’t able to discover the full extent of their potential.

Studio EA has, however, acknowledged other issues that gamers encountered during the beta, which it says are resolved for launch.

On Orbital (the only map available during the beta), the number of tanks has been doubled from four to eight on current-gen consoles and PCs.

Changes have been made to the movement system, with strafing input added to sliding, the ability to jump on moving objects, and reduced spam per jump.

Entry and exit animations are now shorter, with some removed entirely, while notoriously buggy elevators in Orbital have also been fixed.

DICE also acknowledged that there were too many bots on the servers in the first few hours of the beta, which were not successfully populated with real players. He also made it clear that “bots are not designed to replace other players.”

DICE has investigated why some players are being sent to servers outside of their region and said it has “ironed out a lot of those wrinkles in time for launch.”

Another criticism of the beta was the lack of a “big map,” which was a staple in previous Battlefield games. Gamers can rest here, as DICE says it’s already available in the latest version of the game and will be available when it releases.

Quick Actions, or ‘Commo Rose’ (not to be confused with the Chevrolet Camaro), which lets you quickly let your team know where you’re headed or if you need something like a med kit, was another feature missing in the beta, DICE assures you will be back at launch.

Minor adjustments have also been made to other gameplay elements. The compass will now always be on during the game, while the ping system will be more responsive.

Score events have also been updated to include team play based activities like healing and ammo replenishment to encourage more teamwork. The long kill is also now more readable, with highlighted colors indicating a friend or foe killed. There are also more appropriately sized messages on sector status and flag capture events, which received a lot of criticism for being too overbearing in the beta.

Moving on to accessibility, the color blind settings have been improved to help those with color impairments who had difficulty distinguishing UI elements (although frankly, even those of us who could see the spectrum) full colors struggled with the beta UI).

DICE also defended the loading system, saying it was only “partially represented” in the beta: “In the open beta we unlocked more sandboxes than what is experienced when you start playing the game. game, as an important means of testing the behavior of certain gadgets in a real environment. “

In contrast, “During the first four to six hours of the full game, expect to work with a reduced array of gadgets for your open gadget slot, your journey through the ranks slowly introducing new ones for your loadouts. This traditional experience of a Battlefield game, where classes fill traditional roles, is an experience that you get out of through the first 10 levels. “

“As you progress beyond these levels, you will have access to more specialized material and specialists who will help you solve any scenarios you may encounter, and we expect you to interact regularly. with your loads onto the deploy screen to react to the changing nature of Conquest and Breakthrough gameplay. “

DICE added, “Loadouts are fully customizable. In the Open Beta we have four loadouts that reflect this traditional class structure of Assault, Medic, Support and Reconnaissance. They will also be present at launch, for all players as the default, but there is actually a much larger suite of tools at your disposal to help you speed up the transition to different configurations and get you back into the action. “

The ‘Plus Menu’ (the menu that lets you add attachments to your weapon on the fly) has also drawn criticism as it resets every turn (and every time you respawn with an AK-24, thanks to a strange bug).

DICE clarified in the final game, “There are multiple locations per attachment type that you can assign different items to, taken from a large pool of weapon-specific attachments that unlock when you play more with the weapons. in the center is your actual spawn setup. When you deploy with the weapon in hand, you’ll always be set up with your favorite attachments. You can access it from the Collections screen in the main menu and from the Deploy screen while playing. “

Health regeneration has also been modified, slowing down the time it takes for the healing effect to begin and helping to increase the need to work with your Medics. Specialist Maria Falck’s Syrette Gun has received buffs and adjustments to improve the feedback you receive when successfully healing an ally, and makes it easier to land a syringe on a friendly target by magnetizing syringes on friendly targets. Resuscitations are also generally faster.

The lighting and tint patterns have been changed to make enemies more visible, and the UI has also been adjusted so that when you are within 10 yards of an enemy, an icon is now present at the- over the heads of enemy soldiers, provided they do not. be otherwise occluded by terrain or map objects.

Friendly icons have also changed so that it is no longer occluded through walls within 40 yards.

The default controller mapping has been changed and the full mapping will be available at launch. The strength of aim assist on controllers will also increase.

Finally, on crossplay and communication, text chat will be available on console while VOIP will also make a comeback. Crossplay invitations will also be functional at launch.

In summary, it looks like DICE really took the community’s criticism of the beta to heart. He made significant improvements and championed some controversial choices, in time for the game’s release on November 19.