Tom Straatman, Eddie, and Ross Darvill discuss the state of vehicle gameplay in Season 6, upcoming changes in the next update, and answer community questions. Topics include balancing vehicles in Battlefield 2042, collecting and implementing feedback, upcoming changes to air vehicle gameplay, bringing vehicles to the current gameplay, and the importance of community engagement and feedback.
The challenges of balancing vehicles in Battlefield 2042 include the freedom of the vehicle deployment system and finding a sweet spot for vehicles in both 64-player and 128-player warfare modes.
Significant changes have been made to improve vehicle gameplay in Battlefield 2042, including overhauling vehicle loadouts, improving vehicle handling, balancing jets and helicopters, and enhancing communication between pilots and gunners.
Deep dives
The current state of vehicles and challenges faced
The podcast discusses the current state of vehicles in Battlefield 2042 and the challenges faced in balancing them. The team acknowledges the rough launch and the need to stabilize infantry versus vehicle combat. They highlight two main challenges: the vehicle deployment system, which gives players a lot of freedom but leads to balance issues, and the difficulty of finding a sweet spot for vehicles in both 64-player and 128-player warfare modes. Despite the challenges, the team feels that they have reached a stable state with vehicles, although there is always room for improvement. They emphasize the goal of creating an ecosystem where vehicles have specific roles and can be successful if deployed correctly.
Changes made to improve vehicle gameplay
The podcast discusses some of the major changes made to improve vehicle gameplay in Battlefield 2042. These changes include the overhaul of vehicle loadouts during Season 5, adjustments to the handling of ground vehicles to make them more responsive, changes to jets and helicopters to make them feel more balanced and enjoyable to use, the introduction of computed impact points for air vehicles to improve accuracy and aiming, and the addition of rotational hot icons to enhance communication between pilots and gunners. The team is proud of these sweeping changes made over the past year to improve the overall vehicle gameplay experience.
Future focus and potential changes
The podcast touches on the future focus and potential changes for vehicles in Battlefield 2042. While no specifics or timelines are given, the team discusses some areas they are considering for future improvements. These include looking at thermals for tanks, removing delays on turret aiming for tanks, addressing systemic damage and balance issues between vehicles and soldiers, and finding a better balance between defensive mechanics on aircraft and soldiers. They highlight that feedback from the community is vital and encourages players to continue sharing their thoughts and experiences to help shape the future of vehicle gameplay.
Community feedback and their impact
The podcast acknowledges the importance of community feedback and its impact on Battlefield 2042. The team appreciates the vocal and engaged community and stresses that many changes to vehicles have been made based on community feedback. They ask players to keep sharing their thoughts, highlighting that live service games thrive on community engagement. They assure players that they actively seek out and reflect on feedback to fix problems and improve the game experience. The team expresses gratitude for the community's involvement and encourages them to continue providing feedback and reporting issues.
Tom Straatman (Community Manager) together with Eddie (Game Designer - Vehicles) and Ross Darvill (Design Director) review the current state of vehicle gameplay in Season 6, which changes are upcoming in the next game update, and answer vehicle related questions from the Community.
00:20 - Intro
02:27 - State of vehicle gameplay
11:30 - Recap of vehicle changes
26:28 - Upcoming 6.2 changes
29:16 - Q&A
37:46 - Outro
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