The next entry in the long-runningBattlefieldseries has yet to be given a proper name, but the development team is being very transparent with its progress, and a recent update shows a promising look at the game’s destructible environments. A group of developers collectively dubbed Battlefield Studios are in the midst of hosting Battlefield Labs, an ongoing collaboration with the franchise’s fans to hopefully steer the upcomingBattlefieldin the right direction.
Through a community update onSteam(viaWccftech), Battlefield Studios has demonstrated that destruction is a distinct focus for the next iteration ofBattlefield, with a short clip serving as a proof of concept. It shows an RPG being fired to collapse an exterior wall of a building, which the player then climbs up and into before running through it to the other side. The community update promises thatthe nextBattlefieldwill feature “more destruction-related opportunities during gameplay, as well as being able to influence your surroundings through the use of different weapons or vehicle types.”
How DICE Is Approaching Battlefield Destruction
“An Integral Part Of Your Battlefield Experience”
Aside from someleakedBattlefieldfootage, this short clip is the best look we’ve gotten so far of the new game’s map destruction. The community update clarifies thatBattlefield Studios wants destruction to further the depth of gameplay, and result in compelling changes to the mapas a game progresses. The Steam post says, “We aim to make destruction an integral part of your Battlefield experience to create an intuitive, fun, and rewarding environment where you feel empowered to shape the world around you.”
Walls can be damaged from all manner of sources, from explosions to small-arms fire, and there’s an emphasis on the game’s visual and tactile language: “We’re designing destruction around easily identifiable visual and audio language that lets you understand what can be destroyed, altered, or transformed through gameplay.” As can be seen in the video, the destroyed parts of buildings crumble into piles of rubble on the ground, while the core of the building’s structure remains standing.
The key toEA’s new Battlefield Labs projectis ongoing playtests that seem to be influencing the game’s direction in increments.Playtest focus began on server performance, gunplay, and movement, but has now shifted to destruction– how easy it is to identify destructible walls, how collateral damage impacts play, how players make use of the new paths created, and, of course, balance adjustments.
The New Battlefield Has A Lot To Prove After 2042
Battlefield Needs To Make A Huge Comeback
For many longstanding fans of theBattlefieldseries, 2021’sBattlefield 2042is a distinct low point.Its exceptionally buggy launch and initial server issues were only a preamble to a game that lacks a lot of the series' hallmarks, and while its Specialist characters were the greatest departure from the formula, a lack of destruction is also notable. Some of this could be attributed to2042’s map design, where wide open expanses were dotted with few buildings, which, if destroyed, would leave virtually no cover in certain areas.
Destruction in general has been on a downward trend sinceBattlefield: Bad Company 2in 2010, though. It’s frequently among the fanbase’s most requested features for a newBattlefield, yet arguably the last six mainline entries have all come with diminishing returns regarding destruction. This clip from Battlefield Labs, and this focus on destruction so early in the playtests, is a good sign for the upcomingBattlefieldinstallment, which will need to impress right out of the gate if it wants toreverse the ill will cultivated by2042.
