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[GVMERS] The Tragic Downfall of Battlefield 2042

Thick Thighs Save Lives

NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
Even when stacked against the large and looming shadow of Activision’s Call of Duty, Electronic Arts and developer DICE always positioned Battlefield as the cream of the crop for first-person military shooters. Few would disagree the franchise’s penchant for hosting massive battles and dropping players into hectic vehicle-involved encounters set a precedent hardly rivaled. However, Battlefield 5 tested such thinking, launching in November 2018 to reviews that labeled it messy, unpolished, and technically unsound. The World War 2-set experience found better footing years later, but by that time, series faithful had cast their gaze toward the next major outing—Battlefield 2042.
To a degree, the futuristic Battlefield aimed to abandon and magnify the brand’s core tenets, parting ways with the usual Class system in favor of introducing Specialists. Mainstay features such as the scoreboard also took a back seat at launch in late 2021. DICE further eschewed tradition by not developing a single-player campaign to focus its efforts on building a live service. Unfortunately, 2042 arrived in a disastrous state, plagued with issues that would result in its categorization as the worst launch in brand history.
But after eating crow for months on end, Battlefield 2042’s developers eventually managed to improved upon the base game. Some wondered whether such change came too late, given that amid all the turbulence, EA shared its intention of overhauling the property with new leadership at the helm. The maligned 2021 entry could, thus, mark the end of an era.

This is the tragedy of Battlefield 2042.
 

Xtib81

Member
Worst BF I've ever played (started with BC1). I even think I prefered Hardline which is quite a feat.
 

R6Rider

Gold Member
I'm still playing it.

Tom Cruise Sunglasses GIF by Top Gun
 

Bernoulli

M2 slut
i feel like Battlefield games will always fail because people want them to fail

When they do something new gamers cry about it
And when they go back to their roots they cry again
 

Elysium44

Banned
i feel like Battlefield games will always fail because people want them to fail

When they do something new gamers cry about it
And when they go back to their roots they cry again

They hit upon a winning formula with BF3 and BF4 but then they changed it dramatically and haven't changed back since. Fixing what isn't broken just because 'change is good' is what has made BF fail. And the woke stuff doesn't help either.

My first BF was Bad Company 2, then BF3 and 4. Hardline was mediocre but somewhat fun. Tried BF1 despite having big misgivings about WW1 and as expected I didn't like it at all. Haven't tried the newer ones as have no interest in the periods in which they're set.
 
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diffusionx

Gold Member
I dont understand how you can fuck it up this badly when youve made so many before
because they havent made so many before. I don't know how many times I can keep saying this, "DICE" is just a name on the building. All the people who made the good BF games are gone and it's not the same studio. They're going to make another BF and it's going to be total shit too, because the people working there do not know how to make a good BF game.
 

Thanati

Member
Want to bring Battlefield back? Learn what made BF2 so amazing, then take those learnings and apply to any new title.

Job done.
 

Liamario

Banned
DICE is just a name and EA are only interested in making money. I wouldn't hold out much hope for the glory days of Battlefield.
 
BF4 launched horribly but eventually became the best one, even after BF1 and BF5 came and went. I had extreme doubts and reservations about 2042 and all but dismissed it at launch. Naturally, the beta was a complete shitshow and we heard the obigatory "just the beta version, does not reflect official game."

Preorder window, my friend who is a sucker for all things New and Hype wanted to preorder the ultimate edition or whatever. I talked him down into settling for the basic, minimal preorder, while I opted to Wait & See (actually I just never buy anything new). Upon release we played it and a slow realization set in, this game is another shitshow.. "good thing I only got the regular version.."

A year or two passes, I forget how long, and 2042 is added to PS+ collection, so I basically get it for free. Hey, I said that I'd play it for free! So we tried it again and it's actually massively improved. Been playing regularly for a few months now, and in my opinion it has creeped its way to the top position of modern battlefield games, even better than BF4. All the futuristic weapons and settings really add to proper choas that we know and love.

I could go on about the features and experience but thats another story. They are still hammering out updates and have maintained a steady rebound from that awful warcrime of a video game release.

Didn't watch the video yet btw.
 

brian0057

Banned
because they havent made so many before. I don't know how many times I can keep saying this, "DICE" is just a name on the building. All the people who made the good BF games are gone and it's not the same studio. They're going to make another BF and it's going to be total shit too, because the people working there do not know how to make a good BF game.
This is why I don't want a new Splinter Cell. The people that made the first 4 superb games are long gone (sans Clint Hocking) and modern day Ubisoft is not the same company it once was.
I'd rather the series stay dead.
 
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BF2042 started so bad out of the gate but it's fantastic now. It's basically a completely different game and really my only current online game besides the occasional COD match.
 

YOU PC BRO?!

Gold Member
BC2 is, in my view, one of the best online multiplayer games of all time.

BF3 and BF4 (after a few updates) were both absolutely fantastic games.

Then the devs became more interested in political activism. They started down this strange path with BF1. Beginning with the addition of female frontline soldiers and disrespectful revision of historic events. Then the infamous BFV trailer dropped, featuring a one armed disabled woman in fluorescent face paint set against the backdrop of WWII. It got worse for those expecting an authentic WWII experience as we found out the game would no longer feature swastikas and also that axis forces online would strangely include black women. An interesting and unique direction for a realistic WWII war simulator. Not to mention further disrespectful and insulting revisions of historic events in game for the purposes of diversity and inclusivity.

The design director of Dice said this regarding the game… What will I tell my Daughter when she asks me why she cant play because the are no girls in the game?' 'I want to be on the right side of history with this game... ?????

Some of this could be ignored if Dice brought the goods. For many, 2042 was the last chance they would give Dice to get it right. Sadly it was more of the same. Even recently with the following statement…

When we look back at the data, and when we really started moving forward with introducing the class systems, one of the big things we really started to understand was that a lot of our issues came from the fact that players didn't understand how the Specialists were supposed to work.

No accountability for the removal of the class system and the extreme dislike by fans of the new ‘specialist‘ system. Current Dice are a joke. After a series of flops it’s fair to question wether they still have the necessary talent to make a great game. I doubt it and I take no joy in saying that.
 

unlurkified

Member
It’s gotten a lot better since launch. The original maps have been fixed but still don’t compare to most of 3 and 4’s maps. I’d say a lack of good maps is its biggest issue overall. Vehicle balance also doesn’t seem great when it takes constant rocket fire from 3+ infantry to take out a single tank.
 

LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
I actually started playing this again not even a week ago since it used to CTD for me on PC.

It actually works now and runs great. Really nice graphics for a game of its type. Yeah, they lost the plot initially but at least it's playable and doesn't crash anymore.
 
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