Beta tests are invaluable gauges for fixing in-game content, allowing players to dive into the games, play through the available content, and then give feedback to the developers. A comprehensive beta test usually takes place around six months before a game's release, so that developers can scour through all the data, look into all the bugs, and then fix everything up nice and neat so that there are no day-one issues when launch day arrives. With Battlefield V, DICE decided to cut that time in half by launching a beta several months before release in order to garner some useful feedback and make some much-needed changes to the full version due out in November.
A lengthy 24 minute video was posted up over on Battlefield's YouTube channel, as part of the new DICE dev talks series, which is an intimate look at how the developers engage with the community and answer important questions regarding the development of the game coming out of the open beta. To be expected, the video covers all the important bits relating to the beta fixes.
It starts with some changes being made to the Attrition mode, where a lot of gamers felt that tweaks were necessary. To ensure Battlefield V is ready on launch day, DICE will be making the changes, such as having certain starting weapons set with more ammunition on spawn, and giving each player a higher max capacity for the amount of ammo they can carry. As well, the team wants to make it so that every soldier who spawns in the map will have one self-heal pouch that they can use; after the heal is used, gamers will have to search out a medic to get healed in the way it's traditionally done in Battlefield games.
One of the other issues that the team addressed is enemy visibility. The distant haze effect will help highlight the visibility of enemies, and that'll be complemented by DICE's environmental lighting artists tweaking the maps so that the enemies within the map are easier to see, providing better visibility options within the game. The reason this needed an overhaul in Battlefield V was because the team removed a lot of the icons and HUD notifications.
Another change that has been modified is the death. Bleeding out is now faster, so you will die faster in the latest World War II first-person shooter. They have also removed any penalties for respawning while waiting for a medic to help you. So if you hold on longer to wait for a medic, you will respawn faster. This was done to improve the speed of the game. And ammo dumps are also being restricted to just headquarters. Players will be required to build up ammo dumps and resupply stations around the map.
The team is also tweaking vehicular play as well, including quickening up the turret speed of the medium tanks, and making sure that the light tanks are not only fast, but also still light as far as armor is concerned.
There is systematic damage planned for inclusion in the full version of Battlefield V, where there will be engine damage, turret damage, and tract damage. The different damage areas will also greatly change the way vehicle operators can strategically maneuver through the map and heavy battle zones. And finally, there will also be tweaks to the planes so that there's more agility to the handling to make them more maneuverable during dogfights.
You can look for Battlefield V to launch this November for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
