Gamers are so accustomed to the roll-out of beta versions for upcoming game titles, it has almost become old hat amongst the community. However, while some may take this handy little tool for granted, it does benefit the industry in the end.
Take Battlefield: Hardline for example. After a lengthy beta period (where gamers were allowed to bitch and moan about this problem or that), the developer has come away with a valuable set of notes that will guide their resources in tweaking things. In a recent blog post, they’ve revealed ten gamer complaints which have garnered their attention (ones they will work to correct before it drops).
Here is a rundown of each problem area (with lead multiplayer designer Thad Sasser’s notes included):
- REDUCING FREQUENCY OF EXPLOSIVES
“We have heard your complaints about breaking the cops and robbers experience with the amount of heavy explosive weaponry available–but we didn’t want to sacrifice fun! We’ve made changes to reduce the frequency of explosive use to focus on the core gameplay, and we’ve made the use of explosives much more believable now.”
- REBALANCING AND RENAMING THE MECHANIC CLASS
“We’ve made the class better in more situations–without sacrificing his ability to take down a vehicle. We’re also looking at renaming it–post your favorite suggestions in the comments!”
- REVISITING THE IN-GAME HUD
“We’re working on establishing a clearer visual difference from BF4 and improving the messaging of the in-game HUD, from objectives to player status information.”
- REVISITING THE CUSTOMIZE SCREEN
“We’ve taken a new pass at how the customize screen is laid out, and are making it clearer and easier to manage your gear and weapon attachments. This should address the majority of issues reported.”
- MAKING THE WORLD DEEPER AND MORE INTERACTIVE
“We’ve been working on adding more touches to the game world, giving players more options and things to do that impact play. Look for interactive objects like doors, radios, ammo lockers, and more!”
- MAKING ROUNDS LAST LONGER
“A significant amount of feedback during the Beta was received regarding the quick progression of rounds. We’ve made tweaks to both Heist and Blood Money that should help make the experiences last longer without sacrificing any of the fun.”
- INCREASING TRANSPORT VEHICLE HEALTH
“There were a lot of comments about cars dying too easily from gunfire. We agree that one magazine from the AKM should probably not turn your sedan into a 4-person death trap quite so easily. We’ve also increased the survivability of the utility van.”
- IMPROVING AUDIO SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
“In some of our game modes, situational awareness is very important. We’re working on improving the audio cues in the environment to help you detect and locate your enemies before they do the same to you.”
- MEDKITS AND AMMO BOXES SHOULD NO LONGER BLOCK L.O.S. CHECKS FOR REVIVE
“Previously, you could fail to revive someone if a medkit or ammo bag was blocking the line of sight check for the revive mechanic. We are fixing this so that these no longer block you from reviving.”
- IMPROVING INTERROGATION
“We’ve worked out some changes to the T62 CEW and the Interrogation mechanic. We’re working on making Interrogation only show enemies in a radius around the captured enemy, but show the marked enemies as if they had been Active Spotted by a teammate–making it both more useful and less powerful at the same time.”
We’ll just have to wait and see how the final game shakes out this fall, on October 21 st .