Showing posts with label Battlefield 2042. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Battlefield 2042. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 06, 2024

Player density in competitive modes and individual player impact

an image for a blog post about too many players in an online game mode
The zerg approaches!

 I've jumped back into Battlefield 2042 recently and it has me thinking about player density and the impact that I, as a single player, can have on a competitive match.  Battlefield games are known for their large match sizes (up to 128 players!) and big maps, but with that scale comes a loss of any single player's ability to impact the outcome.

 Before we get into the larger match sizes of Battlefield games let's look at some common team sizes across games.  The most common team size I can think of is 3.  New World's arenas are 3v3.  Apex Legends and The Finals are both 3-person squads.  After 3 is 5 (and 6).  Many games feature grouping sizes of 5 or 6, but not always in competitive modes (for example; New World groups are a size of 5 but there is no 5v5 mode). I think 3 hits a sweet spot where each player's contributions are maximized.

 While 3 may be the sweet spot it doesn't evoke any sort of feeling of being in a battle and many games are targeting giving players that sense of battle.  As the player count increases per team/side the player's ability to impact goes down.  

 Think about a Battlefield match with 128 players.  It is chaotic and tons of fun, but of those 100+ players how many are actually having a meaningful impact to the outcome?  Not many outside of maybe the elite helicopter pilot farming kills. Even with multiple points of conflict to fight over there is still likely a large number of players in any one area.

 Now look at a Battlefield match of 32 players with multiple points to defend/attack.  Spread out evenly that may be 4-8 players fighting over each point.  Losing one or two players is going to have an impact and it's more realistic to think that a single player could go Rambo and wipe out an entire team.  It also means the "elite helicopter pilot" is going to be that much more of a factor.

 In a game I am much more familiar with (3,000+ hours played and climbing) is New World.  There are a few modes we can zero in on: 3v3 arena, 20v20 outpost rush, and 50v50 war.

 I've spoke about team sizes of 3 earlier, but a common request I see in New World is for a 5v5 mode since the group size in New World is 5.  Personally 3v3 is the sweet spot.  While 3v3 can get bogged down due to healing/heavy tank builds that is not that common.  It is also possible for groups of 3 without a healer to compete.  If the arena was 5v5 there would be no way to go other than healer + clump strategies and the matches would boil down to which healer dies first.

 Jumping to the top end is war at 50v50.  Having played a fair number of wars and seen a fair number more via streamers I would argue there is a limited few individual players that have a major impact and almost always the "elite helicopter pilot" is the healer.  So I'd agree individual healers can have a massive impact on wars and thus anyone landing a kill shot on a healer has an impact, but otherwise war doesn't offer a lot for individuals to sway.

 This takes us back to 20v20 outpost rush (OPR) and where I feel the ceiling is for individual contribution. In OPR there are multiple objectives which change over the course of a match.  There are also activities that individual players can partake in that, when done well, can contribute to a team winning.

 As a quick aside here, as I am noting with OPR, a lot of what a player's contribution comes down to is the design of the game mode.  As we'll see breaking players up into various objectives decreases the population in any specific spot.  However, this has an eventual breaking point where if player numbers are higher it doesn't matter how many objectives there is because humans tend to always favor wanting unbalanced conflict and so you end up with "zergs" of players rolling over each objective.

 In OPR the 20 players per team + three main outposts to fight over with side events such as the baron fight results in a good mix of players across the match.  No part of the match is really 20 v 20; it is a of 3-5 player fights.  Within those smaller fights individual players can sway the match.  A single player can hold off a team trying to sneak behind and take a backline outpost.  A single player can gather supplies and show up in time to build doors on an outpost.

 In summary: too many players is too many players no matter the design.  Limiting player and providing divided objectives breaks up the action into a size where individuals have impact and when combined those impacts have an effect on the over all game mode.  It feels like the 16-20 player-per-side range is where that sweet spot is hit in my experience.

Monday, May 15, 2023

What'd they do to my boy!?

 Changes to the specialist Irish are coming to Battlefield 2042.  EA DICE announced the changes on their latest Inside Battlefield podcast.  The big change is a significant NERF to Irish's APS-36 Shootdown Sentry.

battlefield 2042 irish

 Irish's sentry, as it stands currently, takes effect immediately once deployed (i.e. it starts shooting down explosives) and intercepts all explosives until such time that the sentry is destroyed.  Basically it is an infinite explosive defense if it is not destroyed.

 The upcoming changes are:

  • There will be a "boot up" time before the sentry is active
  • There will be an "active" mode where it can intercept explosives
  • There will be a "inactive" mode where it cannot intercept explosives; aka cooldown mode

 Oh boy!

 These are significant nerfs to Irish's sentry and I have some reservations.  One of the long standing problems with Battlefield games is "explosive spam".  Trying to defend a point?  Trying to defend the little bit of ground you took over on attack? Prepare for a never ending flood of explosives being lobbed into your general area; especially in game modes like breakthrough.

 Irish's sentry is critical in the current state of the game to combat explosive spam.  Without the sentry confined spaces or bottlenecks would be unplayable.  Anyone that has played a round of breakthrough without anyone playing Irish know how miserable the experience can be.

 Pushing players into open areas exposes them to other Battlefield detractors such as vehicle campers and snipers.  In modes like breakthrough it may become impossible to either defend or attack some points (attackers rely heavily on Irish's sentry to push forward and hold areas; resetting the sentry position a few feet forward as the push makes progress).

 While the sentry is great for combating explosive spam it also has some areas where it can be abused.  The most egregious abuse is vehicles camping just off the main battlefield protected from any long range anti-vehicle attacks since the rockets are considered explosives.  In modes with out of bounds areas for defenders; attacking vehicles could park, drop a couple sentries, and be impervious to attack.

 What confuses me most about the changes is that it hurts defending against explosive spam in close quarters but is not much of a deterrent against the abuse by camping vehicles.  Vehicles are often far enough away that even with a cool down period the sentry is still a near-impervious defense.  Outside of multiple players coordinating attacks there isn't much risk to vehicle campers still.

 The developers also stated they wanted to improve the pick rate of Irish (and Dozer who they also covered in the podcast).  As I see it there is even less of a reason to select Irish now than there was before.  As an Irish fanboy; I can't see myself picking him if his sentry is gutted.

 So in conclusion: what'd they do to my boy!?  The only change needed was to make it so the sentry didn't stop rockets so vehicle campers couldn't sit untouched, but instead we are getting changes that will actively encourage more explosives spam...

Friday, April 14, 2023

Battlefield 2042 Shutdown

 Battlefield 2042 has a new special event, Leviathan Rising, and includes a game mode called Shutdown.  

Attack, Plant & Protect - Infiltrate enemy objectives & plant the Lances; a new mode objective in Shutdown, protect them, and score as many points as possible.

Defend, Locate & Disable - Locate and eliminate Lance Carriers, prevent their dropped Lances from being picked up, and defuse any that do get planted, with prejudice.

 Basically it is conquest but players get to plant the flag (the Lance).  It is also infantry-only so no vehicles.  Combat is all close quarter as the maps are small.  This is an entirely different experience than normal Battlefield.

battlefield 2042
 Personally, I do not find the mode to be much fun.  I enjoy the change in pace with the infantry combat, but matches can get lopsided quickly and it's pretty miserable spending 7 minutes (max for half of a round) getting killed repeatedly.

 This mode may be fun in a coordinated group, but as a solo player with unorganized teams this is a mess.  I will play enough to get the rewards but then I'm done and back to breakthrough.

Friday, March 10, 2023

Having Fun In 2042

Topping the Scoreboard In Battlefield 2042

 I've been enjoying Season 4 of Battlefield 2042.  The game is in a really good spot.  I wanted to take a break from my normal "support" role and play the more aggressive play style with the Assault class and specialists.  I've become a big fan of Zain and landed some great matches; either topping the scoreboard or landing in the top squads.

 While I am more "aggressive" playing assault I am still "support" in my non-existent heart so I spend a lot of time watching flanks for the team.  It is surprising how many kills you can get when you learn the spots where better players flank and just wait for them.  They never expect someone to be waiting for them and I have been able to wipe entire squads.

 Oh and the new sticky grenade is mucho fun.

heartlessgamer battlefield 2042 scoreboard
Look Mom! First place again!

 

battlefield 2042 squad 1st place
Look Mom! The team carried me!

battlefield 2042 squad 2nd place
2nd place is the first loser... err wait!


Thursday, March 02, 2023

Some Fun in 2042

Some fun in Battlefield 2042 Season 4

 Patch 4.0 is out and Season 4 is here.  A couple screenshots from last night's session.

battlefield 2042 scoreboard
LOOK MOM!!!! I'm in first place!

most revives battlefield 2042
I'll pick you up when you are down (seriously it's what I love to do!)


Tuesday, February 28, 2023

It's The Little Things That Matter in Battlefield 2042

Ah the little things...

 Battlefield 2042 Season 4 is here and the community is excited about the little things.  Mainly some improvements to minimap scaling.

  • Increasing the size of the minimap will no longer also increase the size of the icons.
  • Added an option to allow customization of the scale of the minimap icons.
  • Added an option for the scale of the minimap icons to scale with the view distance of the minimap (Enabled by Default).
minimap scale bf2042

 I don't really care but the community is excited: It's finally here!

Monday, February 20, 2023

Assistant with an OV-P Recon Drone

When you just need to get that weekly challenge done in Battlefield 2042!

Flying the OV-P Recon Drone around is so much fun sometimes.  I can't do it every match but when the weekly challenge encourages me I love breaking it out; especially on maps like Discarcded.

And took home an outstanding performance for most assists!



Sunday, February 19, 2023

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

What bringing the class system back to Battlefield 2042 has done

 Battlefield 2042's latest update brought back the class system of Battlefield history.  Players now select a class that limits gadgets, throwables, and specialists that can be chosen.  This is Battlefield and I am happy to see it back.

 Prior to this latest update players could select any combination of specialist, gadget, weapon, and throwable (grenades).  This meant I could play as Irish (a support specialist), carrying anti-vehicle rockets, and at the same time carry the proximity sensor (grenade).  On top of that I could use any gun (assault, SMG, LMG, or sniper).

 To be honest it was pretty sweet as I noted in my post here and here.  I was a mega super team support player with my Irish setup.  I could do everything except shocking non-squad members back to life.  But that is where the problem lied.  Everyone could do everything and thus the Battlefield developers had to make many things "balanced"; for example since everyone could carry anti-vehicle it was weaker than it would be if it was less limited. It was fun but then also not fun.

 With the class system back in place the developers have been able to make things like anti-vehicle stronger per shot (since there is less of them now).  Vehicles should in theory feel less threat over all because not everyone is rocking anti-vehicle tech.  There is far less proximity sensor spam as it is restricted by class (even if that does break my nonexistent heart).

 The development team also figured out an approach to continue to allow all classes to use any of the main guns.  If I want to use an SMG as an assault class I can continue to do so (in prior Battlefields the SMG was limited to Support).  There were proficiency added (as covered in this post) to certain classes to favor certain weapons, but they are not so dramatic as to penalize someone for opting out to another class of gun.

 After having played several rounds under the new system the game does feel better over all.  I actually got in a vehicle without immediately getting blown up!  There seems to be more medics and thus more revives.  I have a much better understanding of what my teammates are capable of because I can see what class they are.  The only thing I really miss is my proximity sensor as I am not a fan of the other grenades, but I understand sometimes less is more.

 Have you given the update a try?  If so, what are your thoughts?

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Closing in on that sweet 1:1 K:D

 Maybe not an achievement for the chad gamers of the world but for us old fart gamers getting to a 1:1 K:D in games like Battlefield 2042 is an achievement.  I was at 1:1 for a period but I've had some terrible  rounds after coming back from a hiatus.

 Also I am finding myself pretty terrible at some of the original maps (they suck compared to Spearhead IMHO) and feel like I am either getting spawn killed or getting shot in the back because I don't know where to expect enemies from.

 Anyways here is my progress:




Thursday, February 09, 2023

How to add the "Inside Battlefield" podcast to Pocket Casts

 I have used Pockets Casts as my podcast manager as long as I've owned an Android phone.  One of the things that happens from time to time is a new podcast is launched and you just can't find it on the Discover tab of Pocket Casts.  The recently launched "Inside Battlefield" podcast from EA/Dice is one such example, but I got around the issue and was able to subscribe to it via Pocket Casts.  Here are the steps.

 In Pocket Casts go to the Discover tab.

 Searching by Inside Battlefield or EA or any search term will not work.  Instead enter the URL for the Apple iTunes page:

https://podcasts.apple.com/se/podcast/inside-battlefield/id1589510289?l=en

 Searching by that URL in Discover should bring up the podcast and allow you to subscribe.  Note: this does not work for all iTunes podcasts so I am sure there is more to why it works for this one and not others.

 Hope this finds someone in need and solves the same problem I had.  Enjoy!

Monday, February 06, 2023

It was the best of Battlefield 2042 games until...

 I've been AFK for a bit but got a chance to jump into the most recent Battlefield 2042 update and I was having the best of games (like seriously; it is rare that I hit the top of the board) and all I'll have to show for it is these two screenshots as the round ended suddenly with "all players disconnected".  Oh well!

Five minutes in and crushing the revives and getting a few kills.
 
More kills and revives; still the top!


Personally I count it as a first place win.  Ignore the other team and their super K:Ds; my team was rubbish.


Saturday, January 21, 2023

Return of the Classes to Battlefield 2042

 Classes are somewhat coming back to Battlefield 2042 as outlined in this update from the development team.  As a player who more recently joined Battlefield 2042 I was already playing after multiple changes since launch that were targeted at bringing classes back due to player feedback about the specialist-only system.  These final updates bring back the classic battlefield classes (recon, assault, support, medic) with a twist.  With a twist come some thoughts.  With thoughts comes this post.

 In Battlefield games classes normally restrict what weapons and gadgets players can use.  In 2042 classes will not restrict weapon use but will limit gadgets.  Instead of limiting weapons classes will gain a proficiency in a weapon.  For example; Medics will be more proficient with SMGs (exact details below)

Assault + Assault Rifles: 3 Extra Magazines
Engineer + LMG: Improved Dispersion while Crouched or Prone
Support + SMG: Faster Draw Time
Recon + Sniper Rifles: Immediate, constant and steady scope

 At face value these are hard to evaluate. When I had first heard they were thinking of proficiency I thought it would mean a more dramatic impact; such as an assault player being unable to aim an LMG.  But stuff like assault getting stuff like three extra magazines on an assault weapon? When is the last time you've run out of ammo or lived long enough to go through stock magazines?  

 I don't think players desire for classes to return was just to have a limited set of gadgets to worry about when facing an opponent.  The guns classes were limited to was a huge part of the system. Without I am not sure what the point of having the classes is.  This could have just been a simple pass through gadgets to limit them to specific specialists.

 On the other hand these changes do at least bring classes back to the game in an official capacity without taking away combinations many players enjoy as far as their main pea shooter.  Gadgets getting restricted will certainly freshen up some things (no more Mackey zip-lining in with C5).  I hope this means vehicles have a little bit of a return knowing that not everyone can pop out with a rocket launcher.

 The changes will hit in the next month or so and shake the game up.  I've been playing a lot less 2042 lately so we'll see if I am around for the changes.  If so I'll probably have some more thoughts.

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Happy Holidays from the Battlefield team!

 Saw this and figured I'd share and maybe someone can explain to me the context for the penguin?


Monday, December 19, 2022

Fixed: Battlefield 2042 Matchmaking Failed

 With the most recent Battlefield 2042 update players have been getting a Matchmaking Failed error.  I started getting it myself and figured out a workaround (which was also confirmed by others using similar methods).

The error: 

Matchmaking Failed
Error Code: 3:2907J:2903J P:84955732

The fix: 

 Queue up for co-op solo, cancel, and then rejoin the mode you were trying to join and you will not get the error.

 Quote from the Reddit post with their steps "If you get the matchmaking error, search for a game of coop/solo and wait for the countdown to start. Cancel the lobby and then try online again."

 Hope this helps!  It has worked for me every time.

Sunday, December 04, 2022

Woot! Supporting the team in Battlefield 2042!

 I had a great match this morning in Battlefield 2042 playing Irish stopping explosives and getting assists.  I may average just below 1:1 kill vs death, but I can support the team like a champ.  It is awesome that 2042 rewards support and reserves a billboard spot at the end of the match for the top assists. 

My first "Most Assists" award!

Look at all those explosives destroyed.. 83!

Game mode was Breakthrough on the Spearhead map.

Saturday, December 03, 2022

Day 5: Battlefield 2042 Impressions (What does the future hold for Battlefield 2042?)

 I am going to wrap up my Battlefield 2042 impressions posts with a look at what's coming next since EA posted their "Battlefield Briefing – First Look at 2023" post.  I am going to stick with the game because I am enjoying it.  So much so that I bought the current battle pass.  Now that I am invested I am keenly interested in the future and whats next for the game.

 The biggest takeaway from the post is that there will be a Season 5 and Season 4 is primed for a launch in early 2023.  There was some concerns due to the poor launch of the game that EA would wrap it all up after season 4; essentially abandoning the game after only one short year.  Only season 5 was mentioned so that is not a commitment to more than a few months but it seems like it is the first light that the 2042 community has seen in a while.

 The next big item was the confirmation the class reintroduction will occur in update 3.2.

Update 3.2 will be a big one for us with the reintroduction of Classes to Battlefield 2042. All our existing Specialists will be placed within defined roles with a set of gadgets and equipment that best suit their purpose on the battlefield. 

 This is a massive change for the game and will bring it back to the model of all Battlefield games of the past.  While I wasn't playing prior to Season 3 my understanding is the original Specialist system was too far removed from what is expected of a Battlefield game and contributed to a lot of the "WTF" reviews of the original version.  Since launch its been a steady crawl back to the tried and true concept of Assault > Medic > Engineer > Recon.  I look forward to see what this shapes into.


 Also mentioned are new maps and map reworks.  I have mostly played Spearhead in my short stint so can't comment on the reworks.  Community sentiment seems to be that the team is focused on the right maps to rework and there is excitement around possible new maps.

 One area that was not mentioned was Battlefield Portal. I would have thought there would be a call out for whats next with Portal.  It seems like a cool concept and my few forays into I've found fun little game modes to give a try.  I wonder if its not a key feature at this point?  Not sure.

 If you are interested in giving Battlefield 2042 a try the game is free to play until Dec 5th.

 Have some thoughts about this First Look at 2023?  Share a comment.

Thursday, December 01, 2022

Day 4: Battlefield 2042 Impressions (Proximity Sensor)

 For my fourth day of Battlefield 2042 impressions I unlocked the proximity sensor (grenade).  To be honest it feels a bit like cheating but is also so critical to helping a team root out the enemy.  When thrown this grenade senses enemy players and displays the on the minimap.  When defending this helps know where players are coming from and when attacking this helps know where they are defending.  Proximity sensors are easily the best supporting feature I bring to the battlefield for my team.

 I can't imagine playing the game without proximity sensors now and it is a constant flood of experience gained for spotting enemies and getting assists when they get killed.  Throw a sensor into a contested control point and watch the assists and "enemy spotted" experience roll in. 

 I am still playing Irish as my main specialist and with his ability to stop explosives getting tossed/shot in combined with proximity sensors I am consistently closing in on the top of the leaderboard each match and getting the satisfaction of seeing my team perform better.  I will admit I suck at the shooting aspect of the game so it warms my heart that I can contribute so effectively playing Irish with proximity sensors.  Toss an ammo box to resupply the team and I'm one happy camper.

 For context in my all-time favorite Battlefield game, Battlefield 2, I was a medic or engineer most of the time.  Either I was healing/reviving players or smacking vehicles with wrenches.  Being able to play as this support play style is what always attracted me to Battlefield games over other shooters and it is definitely happening again here with Battlefield 2042!

 This also has me jazzed up about other gadgets and specialists I have yet to play with and I can't wait for the next "aha!" moment!  I can feel the Battlefield teeth sinking in; so much so I didn't even log into New World to do daily activities... which is the first day in a while I have not logged into New World!

 Hate the "wall hack" proximity sensors?  Or do you tell players to "get gud"?  Leave a comment so my comment sensor beeps.


Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Day 3: Battlefield 2042 Impressions (Tweakin')

 For my third day of Battlefield 2042 I did some tweakin' of my settings.  I mostly followed this guide on YouTube (embedded below as well).

The most helpful tweaks to improve my Battlefield 2042 experience were:

  • Field of view recommendation around 90.  I was going max 105, but 90 (or 89 recommended in the video)
  • Low video settings still look really, really good and the frame rate increase is noticeable.  I am actually a little shocked at how good it looks on low settings.
  • Showing all kills in the kill feed; was surprised that is not the default setting
  • Hud icons!  Holy crap!  Being able to hide objective icons when zoomed in is so nice.  Being able to make sure enemies show up more bold while shrinking/hiding friendly hud icons is also great.  Lots of tweaking to do here!


Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Day 2: Battlefield 2042 Impressions (Breakthrough, Irish, and the Rorsch Mk-4 Railgun)

 For my second day of Battlefield 2042 I decided to take a journey into a new game mode, Breakthrough, but stuck to the new map, Spearhead, that came with Season 3.  I like to learn a map before jumping to other maps.  Also I am enjoying Spearhead a good bit.

 Breakthrough is a good fit for the new map as its a linear game mode where an attacking team starts on one end and pushes to the other end in sequence (meaning there is no jumping over the current objectives and back capping).  This leads to a more defined "front line" for fighting and I found it a more enjoyable mode than Conquest for this map.  I spent a lot less time getting shot in the back.

 I also figured out some nuance in the control and the ability to change between my attachments.  This is a nice quality of life change from many other games where these sorts of systems require you to make the change outside the game mode. Now I can easily change between scope one and two to fit the current need on the battlefield which fits perfectly with the new map as players transition from outdoor fighting to close-quarters-combat in the factory buildings.

 I am also spending time as other specialists (Day 1 was all Boris). I really like Irish as I am a defensive player by nature (i.e. my aim and reflexes suck so I am better at supporting the team).  One item that I've become very fond of is Irish's APS-36 Shootdown Sentinel (deploy a trophy system that intercepts enemy explosives).  In a single round last night I stopped 96 explosives... which is a bit crazy as each one of those may have been something that killed myself or a team mate.  

 Irish also can pop up defensive shields on the battlefield and combined with a sniper rifle can allow for some unique "sentinel" (apparently Call of Duty's term for campers and I am stealing it) scenarios.  This also gave me a chance to try the new Rorsch Mk-4 Railgun as a sniper rifle.  The weapon takes a bit to get used to but with its chance at landing one hit kills and its pinpoint laser accuracy (i.e. almost zero projectile drop at range) I can see now why so many players are using it.

 I am trying to avoid getting sucked into one specialist as I do want to give more a try, but Irish is really fun and Boris was fun before him.  Zain, the new Season 3 specialist, is likely the next on my list to try just to jump on the bandwagon of trying all the new stuff while everyone else is.

 Who's your favorite specialist?  Whats your favorite game mode: breakthrough or conquest?  Leave a comment!