“Getting from A to B should be fun. It can’t be boring and it can’t be tedious, and it also needs to be safe,” explained design director Shashank Uchil in an interview back at the Battlefield 6 reveal event. “It’s making sure there’s enough cover, and making sure there’s always a lane for infantry.”
Nowhere is this design philosophy more apparent than in the two biggest maps in the upcoming first-person shooter’s bombastic All-Out Warfare mode: Mirak Valley and Operation Firestorm. Having tried both at a recent digital preview, these massive environments not only bring a massive sense of scale to combat but also benefit from some smart choices that address some of my biggest complaints with the previous game.
The largest maps in Battlefield 2042 were a frustrating experience at launch. Without any real cover to speak of, players on the ground were left at the mercy of powerful aerial vehicles that dominated battles. The experience was so rough that it prompted a year-long effort to redesign its core maps, adding extra objects to break up some of the wide open spaces and give everyone a bit more breathing room.
Duck and cover
This time around, it seems as though developer Battlefield Studios won’t be making the same mistake. Mirak Valley, set to be the largest map at launch, never felt like so much of a meat grinder. Although absolutely teeming with vehicles to drive, I can count the number of times that I died to an enemy attack helicopter on a single hand.
From little buildings to concrete barricades and abandoned shipping containers, there is a huge amount of cover to make use of. Even when you’re out of built-up areas, the mountainous terrain is filled with dips and crevices that provide plenty of protection if you sprint through, weaving in and out of them. Large outcroppings or boulders make for brilliant sniping spots, but come at the cost of leaving you much more exposed.
That map centers around a busy construction site, complete with an unfinished tower that adds some interesting verticality to the environment. Its tight corridors and stairwells also seem catered towards those eager for a close-quarters combat fix, and I loved running around in there with the room clearing weapons of the Assault class, racking up shotgun kill after shotgun kill.
If that’s not your preferred playstyle, though, then you’ll be glad to hear that movement speed has been reduced since the initial beta. I noted that the slide in particular felt pretty unrealistic in my first hands-on, letting you zoom around corners and pepper foes with bullets like it was a fast-paced Call of Duty match. Everything is a lot more grounded now, with a weight that is much more in line with the action in the likes of fan favorite Battlefield 1.
Desert heat
When I swapped over to Operation Firestorm, it was like dropping straight back into Battlefield 3. The team has nailed this revival, recreating the iconic map in a way that’s instantly recognizable but still fresh and exciting thanks to some subtle design changes. In fact, according to Uchil, the original designer of the map even helped create this remake – which is presumably part of the reason why it still seems so authentic.
Cover is much more prominent, with every objective practically stuffed with sandbags and little barriers that lead to more varied encounters. Importantly, none of these changes really affect the overall flow of the map, which is just as thrilling as ever. I also particularly appreciated the visual filter that’s been applied here. Like its original incarnation, Operation Firestorm has a distinctly blue tint in Battlefield 6 that lends its desert setting a rather cold look that just oozes nostalgia.
My only real grumble with everything I tried was that the new mode, Escalation, wasn’t anything special. On paper, it’s a winning formula: a combination of Conquest and Breakthrough that challenges you to hold the majority of capture points in order to score. Capture points are then gradually removed as the match progresses, shrinking the playing field.
In theory, this forces teams into an ever-tighter confrontation – but I never got a sense of that. The constant capturing of points was largely indistinguishable from Conquest, and a few areas being sectioned off didn’t affect the pacing in any tangible way.
The team did mention that the flow is noticeably different in a full match (my preview session didn’t have quite enough participants to fill each lobby), so hopefully it will be something that shines much more come the October 10 launch.
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dash.wood@futurenet.com (Dashiell Wood)
