Battlefield 2 Update 1.50 and Battlefield 2142 Update 1.51.
Battlefield 2 Update 1.50 and Battlefield 2142 Update 1.51.
Why?
Reading the feedback you guys give us in the gaming forums, it’s been clear to us that the game was lacking in a tight infantry map with the PLA army involved. So we set out to create a map with that in mind and this is the result of that. That map, which we have called Operation Blue Pearl, will appear in the upcoming Battlefield 2 Update 1.50 and Battlefield 2142 Update 1.51.
Limitations
As some of you probably know, BF2 has been around for a while and many of the current players have rigs that can run the game at high settings. But to us, creating official content, we still have to keep the low specs of the game in mind designing a map.
That’s where the “fog of war” comes in. When we make maps here at DICE we are constantly using programs that check draw-calls on our maps so that, wherever you position yourself on the map, the draw-calls never exceed the maximum limit. (A draw-call is when the game engine must call a texture image into the graphic card’s memory for it to be rendered on screen. The more draw-calls the game must make, the more it impacts computer performance so limiting these is one of the cornerstones of game production.)
In order to make a tight city-feel map you need a certain object density. The only way to get that is to use fog to “cull” distant objects.
This also prohibits us from using air vehicles on this kind of map. On ground level, your view is often blocked by buildings and other objects, keeping the draw-calls in check. If you would use an air vehicle you would get a free 180’ view of the city which would make the draw-calls exceed the maximum number.
The setting
Even though this new map reuse all content from the original game we’ve tried to come up with something that we hope will feel fresh for you. As already mentioned the map gives you an infantry, city setting with the PLA army, which hasn’t been present in the game before.
We’ve also dug deep in the vaults of what we’ve got here at DICE and tried to bring up some of the objects that weren’t used as frequently in the original release, spotlighting these to hopefully give you a new experience.
We here at DICE also felt that BF2 lacked a map with a beach landing scenario – like “Omaha Beach” in BF 1942. That’s why we’ve made this map into a beach landing and hopefully you guys will enjoy that experience.
Feedback from beta testing
As we roll this map out in open beta we are very interested to know what you players out there think about it. Can we make changes that would make the map better and of course, find any bugs left in the map. If you’re interested in making this map a better experience for all, please give us feedback.
Going into a feedback session there are a few things that have to be kept in mind. The main thing is to understand what experience this map wants to convey – a grinding, hard push of infantry fighting through an urban setting. I.e. – that map should be fun to play as infantry. That’s its main focus. The vehicles in there should add a flavour to the map, but not ruin the infantry experience.
With that said, our main questions are:
Does the beach landing work?
For the landing to work it’s absolutely crucial that the US troops don’t get owned by PLA AT:s. We know this is a risk and that’s one of the main feedback points we need to get from you guys – is the beach landing successful. Keep in mind it should be hard, but not impossible and boring.
Is it too easy to back-cap the Chinese home base?
With an assault map, the experience we’re looking for is a gradual grind that slowly moves the battle to the back of the map. We’ve left a sneak hole to get past the front in case the front flag is to heavily defended, but this shouldn’t be a too easy way.
Bugs
These annoyances always seem to sneak through. There will be areas where you can get stuck, get into objects and so on. Please, feedback on these too.
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