In case you didn’t know, Battlefield 2042 Season 5: New Dawn is launching this June 7. Before the season starts, MP1st had the chance to attend a Discord Q&A for Season 5 where DICE developers answered a few questions from the gaming press and content creators.
The DICE devs who attended the event are: Core Gameplay Designer Sam Vanta, Producer Ben Walke, Associate Level Design Director Shashank Uchil, Weapons Designer Alexander Formoso, Technical Director Kevin Moore and Designer of “heavy metals” at DICE, “Eddie” or also known as ArmoredKill.
(Note: This is a roundtable interview but for the sake of security, we have omitted the usernames of the people who attended and for the DICE devs, we’ve replaced their Discord names with their publicly known names and titles within the studio. We’ve also edited the answers for grammar and readability but left everything else untouched).
Q: I would like to know the intention to make the anti-tank grenade only for the Engineer.
Sam Vanta: Hey, sure- so I think it’s important to bear in mind the journey 2042 has been on. We went out the door with Specialists which had access to all of the equipment in the game, which ultimately led to the negative sentiment in that players felt the class based gameplay had been lost- to which in update 3.2.0 we went back to the drawing board on this and began adding gadget restrictions in place. The anti-tank grenade speaks to the class fantasy of the engineer and is significant in its impact ingame. The risk we run by enabling this grenade to all classes is that every class is suddenly back to having an effective anti-vehicle answer which runs counter intuitive to the rework. Equally the meta of the game is important to us, this is something we’ll continue to evaluate going into Season 5 based on feedback and telemetry.
Q: Any plans to change other specialists after Irish and Dozer?
Ben Walke: We do have plans for more QoL improvements, some will be bigger than others. You’ll hear more on those as we move further down the line, some of which will be dependent on changes we already have planned etc In short, yes we plan to do improvements but they will vary in size. I’d like us to get QoL improvements out to you as soon as we can, so in some cases we might split up the work to get some bits live and we follow up with others later on. It’ll vary.
Ben Walke: If you have any feedback or specialists you think we should look at then we’re always all ears.
Right now the only feedback I would get would be about Engineers like Crawford and Boris. I feel like they are undervalued regarding their gadgets. Both are the only ones able to use the M5 recoiless. I don’t know the pick rate for them right now but it feels like we can improve that by tuning their gadgets maybe?
Ben Walke: No specifics just yet, but I know that we, and especially Sam Vanta has been looking at Engineers. More to come on that.
Q: Which rocket pods are on the jets (64p mode didnt have jets to try)
Ben Walke: We’ve considered it, along with a lot of other things 70mm HE rockets, dumb fire with no guidance system.
Eddie | DICE: They are anti vehicles and decent vs infantry if that’s what you are asking
Q: Will you buff the m1a5 and t28 in the future? They feel very weak and I fear the 50mm canon on bolte but also the anti tank grenade will be reasons to do so. Aside of that the HE ammunition feels inconsistent on infantry. Dealing no DMG when the projectile impacts near enemy infantry and sometimes dealing no damage at all because of fences
Eddie | DICE: It’s very much on the table, not going into details what kind of buff but we definitely. Wanna show some love to MBTs if you have videos of explosion not dealing damage when you think it should. please share it with us. and for Portal vehicles, As Ben mentioned, we have considered it. not much to share right now again :(. we need to make sure we are adding vehicles that fills a gap in our current roster without necessarily breaking how things play out in 2042 due to the amount of “legacy” feature they have which is quite different than 2042s. so we will see.
Q: Do you intend to make the M44 stronger? He’s really slow to draw or between shots. A small exit animation of the weapon like the M27 BFV would also be greatly appreciated
Alexander Formoso: Perhaps! We havent gotten a lot of feedback regarding the M44 and its a niche weapon meant to be a pocket sniper, but we will consider this
Q: Something is also planned for the AK-24? because it’s really the worst weapon in AR while in all games it’s a formidable weapon in normal times. even the G57 has more power.
Alexander Formoso: With 5.0 we tweaked all the AR’s accuracy behavior. If the feedback is positive and we can roll the same change to all the other weapon types, then we will do a damage pass to make sure the weapons better land in acceptable parameters
Q: Will you guys consider changing the balance system by listening more to the feedback of players and long term players to balance stronger weapons etc. faster in the future instead of giving data analysis too much value?
Ben Walke: Not Alex, but I’ll take this one. We do listen to feedback from players and we have a constant loop with our Community team about things that are being said, as well as what we’re seeing ourselves. Data analysis also has a place to play, and we should always verify things before we start to make any changes but I don’t agree that we put too much value on data analysis.
Q: Will the M1911 (and to a lesser extent the MP443) be getting any tweaks to bring them more in line with their 2042 counter-parts? The M1911 sights sway from side-to-side off center when ADS’d, and the reload speed is very slow for its’ capacity. View model when ADS I feel is also too close to the camera, should be out more to be more in line with the G57 and NVK-P125.
Alexander Formoso: Yes they will!. During Season 5 the sidearms will get the pack of the All out Warfare standard attachments, granted, not ALL attachments, but some. After that is released and the accuracy changes are in place, we will do a damage pass to make sure they are all on equal ground
Q: Is it planned to look into changing the way ARs and LMGs feel regarding their effective range in season 5? They feel somewhat the same and right now the LMG trait for example lead to camping. Any changes for that in season 5?
Alexander Formoso: The accuracy Stat of the Assault rifles got drastically lowered in 5.0 and depending on the feedback we get, we will extend that change to Lmgs and the rest… And then proceed with an ammo and damage pass
Q: There are still Portal weapons not implemented into AOW. Will we see some new ones in season 5?
Ben Walke: Not in S5, we’re focusing our efforts on bringing all the attachments to our vault weapons before we bring any more of those across.
Q: The BFT .50 looks very strong compared to the M44, it is intended?
Alexander Formoso: Yes, since the M44 retains the long range advantage with it’s headshot multiplier
Q: Is there a reason why some Vault assault rifles don’t have holo fusion sights?
Alexander Formoso: Mostly compatibility problems (camera getting on the way of the weapon, clipping, etc)
Q: I’m just curious in designing this and perhaps even taking into account the reworks made to existing maps since launch, what were the main design philosophies the team were focusing on? How different is this from the initial design choices pre-launch to the post launch content?
Shashank Uchil: Hey, glad to hear you are enjoying the new level. The key takeaways for us were Smaller level with a faster time to action. Shorter traversal distances Higher amount of cover on primary traversal paths More war torn theming across the level
Q: Is the Reclaimed map going to support 128 players conquest
Shashank Uchil: Not natively but i believe you can do that in Portal
Q: Is it a desire not to make an urban map on your part, or is it simply because you are unable to do it because of the graphics engine or other?
Shashank Uchil: We do have a desire to make urban maps as much as all of you
Q: Could you share some back story how you guy choose motif for map ‘Reclaimed’? I’m assuming that motif for reclaimed is Zavod in BF4, but is there any additional maps considered in that process?
Shashank Uchil: The level is called Reclaimed as it spoke to the land having been once the site of a global war (the war of 2020), and it having been reclaimed both by nature itself, and reclaimed by calls for peace and humanity, as shown through the graffiti. The Reclaimed motif is specific to this level.
Q: So the new reclaimed map won’t be in the AOW 128-player playlist?
Kevin Moore: DICE: Correct, it will not be in that playlist
Q: So the only way to play reclaimed is by using Portal servers?
Kevin Moore: No, there will be 64 player playlists for is within AoW, just not 128 player playlists
Q: Do you guys consider a map rotation update every now and then or maybe a map vote system for Season 5 as QoL? It appears that after every patch the rotation gets rerolled and for weeks we play the same maps. For example Breakaway, Manifest and Renewal in the past couple of weeks. Would love to see more diversity for maps when playing 128 players Conquest I noticed the camera movement for infantry has been a tweaked. Is there any option to disable this? doesn’t mean I don’t like it but it would be appreciated for reducing motion sickness
Sam Vanta: There’s an option to reduce this 😀 When we made this adjustment we felt it was important to retain the ability to keep it roughly how it was if players so wished to do so. As someone who also gets motion sick pretty easily, I also appreciate that feature! 😀
Q: Were there any tweaks/ buffs made to infantry movement?
Sam Vanta: Movement speeds etc have not been tweaked, what you may have experienced is the physicality pass we did with the camera relating to movement. If you’re running with a pistol you’ll get a lighter camera bob, if you run with say a sniper or RPG- the camera bob becomes more aggressive- much like how it may feel to run with one of these IRL 😀
Q: So the speed remains the same if I understand correctly? is it just a speed effect that is added?
Sam Vanta: The speed at which you move in the level is the same, the effect is about making it feel more physical to the world of Battlefield- it’s not to make it feel faster, or slower. But more like you’re a soldier traversing with equipment on the Battlefield.
Q: Will there be any further improvements to mouse/controller input? Still feels like there’s input latency, especially compared to previous entries.
Sam Vanta: Nothing to share at this moment, but we’re aware of the feedback and will continue to make improvements where we can surrounding it.
Q: Is there any news on any new content coming to portal for S5? more customizable game modes (Breakthrough, shutdown) more classic maps?
Sam Vanta: I believe Breakthrough is coming to Portal, however it will not be available for custom editing.
Q: Would this count as the smallest map yet in 2042?
Shashank Uchil: Yes it would
Q: What are the main inspirations for Reclaims design aesthetic and style?
Shashank Uchil: its inspired by Zavod, but in current era in a hopefully setting
Q: Will it be the same version for 128 players?
Shashank Uchil: On Portal yes
Q: The worst thing about Zavod was the little birds. For me the new map needs to be transport vehicles only. Focus on infantry
Shashank Uchil: This level we are trying to get back to Combined arms, it would be easy to make an infantry only level…but we alienate all the players who like vehicles
Q: Was the map designed from the ground up as a 64-player focused one? Were there any early considerations for 128 version too?
Shashank Uchil: The level was designed to be played with 65p from the start. A really nice map, restricted and with close range areas and other open ones, suitable for every playstyle and without useless or dispersive areas. I don’t think it will exist in a 128 player version (except for portal, right?) It’s perfect at 64. You can also feel the BF4 vibes. Good job!
Shashank Uchil: Yes 128 players on this level is only supported on Portal
Q: There is a damage reduction on the distance with the RPG?
Sam Vanta: Not over traversed range, but the explosion it emits has damage fall off yes. The RPG emits two explosions, a small circular one and a larger frontal facing one- to keep it more in line with its intent.. Hit vehicles! 😀 but a skillful shot will still kill inf
Q: It does more damage to the back and sides?
Sam Vanta: You mean to a tank or inf? Just want to make sure I understand the question fully.
Designers should never assume! ;D so I don’t assume! If you hit a tank in the rear with an explosive (RPG included) it will take increased damage yep! Sides it will deal its regular damage. (edited) Glad to hear that thank you! 😀 it received some balance tweaks to fit in with the rest of the gadgets in All Out Warfare, equally some trajectory changes. The RPG in Portal as it was- was really really strong!! but we tried to retain what makes an RPG fun. We’ll monitor the situation of anti vehicle weaponry as we lead into Season 5, equally we listen to the other side of the coin which is the victim to the RPG. It’s a fine balance to walk, making the inflictor feel great, but the victim feel fairly done by.
Q: Being able to ADS with the RPG while the draw animation is still playing makes it feel off as it still plays whilst ADS. Should maybe cancel that animation once the ADS transition begins, kinda like the how the weapon draw animations on spawn can be cancelled by ADS.
Sam Vanta: We try to respect the players input as much as possible more than favouring the actuality of when it’s fully deployed. As it tends to create a negative feeling when we add delays to such actions- but I do agree in that it’s a heavy weapon and as such it should take a bit of time to perform. Will consider adjusting in the future once we launch and get more feedback a fine balance to tread!
Q: Will there be new Vaults weapons in Season 5?
Ben Walke: No, we’re focusing on getting 2042 attachments onto Vault weapons throughout S5. Want to finish that before we think about adding any new ones into the mix.
Q: There were a few Vault weapons that I felt were lacking some attachments that were present for others, such as the ACW-R and M416. Will they be expanded upon to be more in line with say the M16A3 and AEK-971?
Ben Walke: No plans for any additional weapon categories right now
Q: There were a few Vault weapons that I felt were lacking some attachments that were present for others, such as the ACW-R and M416. Will they be expanded upon to be more in line with say the M16A3 and AEK-971?
Ben Walke: Some weapons will have less. Once thing we’ve said before is that Vault Weapons were genuinely not built for All-Out-Warfare. As a result, some attachments might not work as well as we’d like on some weapons. An example could be that a scope causes severe camera issues when ADS (outside of what we can solve). For a lot of attachments we are able to tweak and adjust to get things exactly how we’d like. For some weapon & attachment combos it’s not always possible. We want each Vault weapon to have as many as possible so while we’ve been developing them, our approach has been to give each weapon all of our attachments and then work back from there.
We’d like to thank DICE and EA for inviting us to the Season 5 preview Battlefield 2042 Season 5 launches this June 7. You can read up on the official patch notes for it here.