Since battlefield 2042 was officially released last November, players have been rated the game negatively, and DICE and EA have been struggling to keep fans of the series happy.
There were bugs when the game launched that greatly affected the player experience, and since then, players have asked for changes to the scoreboard, maps, overall performance, etc. In fact, some players have created a petition demanding a refund from Battlefield 2042, which has been signed by more than 70,000 people.
DICE has been discussing with players how to fix the game, and now, it has released a lengthy blog post that responds to five major feedback topics about the Battlefield 2042 map and unveils some improvement plans.
"Based on your feedback, we will outline 5 main topics around the issues we currently face with gameplay on the map, their reasons, and the changes in our current thinking process and proposals to address them," wrote Freeman, DICE Community Manager. "We're doing this with an open discussion with you, so we look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback on the goals of our updated map design to make sure we make the right call for improvements to the gaming experience."
Through
DICE says it realizes that players are unhappy about how long it takes to get from a capture point to an occupy point, or even how long it takes to reach an occupy point after a base respawn. DICE says those large distances are meant to accommodate 128 players on a single map, but it understands the impact this has on overall gameplay. The studio even agreed that "the overall crossing time is too long".
As for how it intends to solve this problem, it hopes to reduce the overall travel time between the occupation point and the base on some maps, moving the two to help solve this problem. DICE asks players to tell them which maps are traveling too long.
strength
DICE said the intensity in the game, or sometimes the lack thereof, was associated with the 128-man mode, particularly in the breakout. It says that sometimes when pushing a goal, there are too many players and things get messy, even more confusing when extra targets and vehicles are thrown into the mix.
"In terms of improvements, we're currently reviewing whether it makes sense to keep the breakout to 64 players if it's 128 players, or if we feel that reducing the total number of vehicles that can be generated would ensure their presence is less overwhelming," Freeman wrote. "In the run-up phase of the holiday, we introduced a 64-man breakout and recently made some changes to the value of the whole model based on the behaviour we saw in the final target phase. Now, we feel that Breakout Mode on 64 players provides the best experience. "
However, DICE wants to know what players think of this mode and how to improve it. It also wondered whether keeping the breakout to 64-man mode was the right move at the moment.
Aim line
When DICE mentions sight, it's about how often you receive enemy shots at a distance. Now, DICE says, players feel there are too many open and flat spaces on their maps, which makes people pay too much attention to direct long-distance battles between targets. DICE's current improvement plan is to ensure that there are more opportunities to hide themselves from the enemy's line of sight when crossing from one target to another, with the overall goal of reducing the large focus on ranged combat that currently exists in the game.
DICE says it's already working to improve this, and improvements to the map are on the way. It wants to know which maps and captured points players feel most in need of more line-of-sight obstructions.
path
One aspect of the feedback, DICE says, is that Battlefield 2042 doesn't have a clear path to achieve its goals. There is no clear predetermined path, enemy fire often comes from all possible angles, and DICE recognizes the challenges this presents,
"We are currently seeking improvements to the path on our map, making clearer and more definitive paths as we travel between targets to maintain a focus of combat effectiveness and make it easier for people to understand how to move from one goal to the next," Freeman wrote. "If you have ideas or examples that match these goals, don't be shy and show them to us."
bunker
The fifth and final feedback topic DICE is working on about the Battlefield 2042 map is the lack of cover, or rather, the lack of cover for the entire game map. It says it's trying to limit direct long-range combat between targets, while also wanting to make sure you have enough cover when traveling between targets.
"We are seeking to address this issue, to review additional cover where we think it is needed," Freeman wrote. "Consistent with what we have discussed in some of our other focus areas, our intention is to reduce the likelihood of being shot from a 360-degree angle and to eliminate the feeling of luck running between targets into no-man's land." If you currently have any specific areas on the map that lack cover, then we'd love to hear from you. "
As for when to expect to address the changes in these five themes, DICE says it will take "a lot of development time," so "not all of these proposed changes will be available to you in the game at the same time in all of our map libraries." Immediate priority areas of focus are priorities.
"We know that we have a lot of opportunities on this map to improve gameplay, and that's where you can expect to see the first updates land," DICE Community Manager Freeman wrote in a blog post.