Battlefield 2142 Interview

Developer Digital Illusions CE's Battlefield 2142 is nearing its planned October release, and some players are starting to get a taste for the latest entry in the Battlefield series as the game's limited beta has begun. Recently, EA also held an event at its Redwood Shores headquarters to give various press and community members a chance to check out the game's Titan mode. Since the game mechanics are already fairly well known at this point and there have been numerous previews of Titan mode, I opted to seek out DICE producer Kristoffer Bergqvist to ask some fairly specific questions about the game, many of them suggested by Shackers. Unfortunately, my voice recorder had other plans, and turned my wave file into a garbled mess. Thanks to the valiant efforts efforts of Shacker alias, to whom I cannot extend enough gratitude, the interview was returned to a semi-comprehensible state and I managed to decipher the following exchange: Shack: We've seen Titan mode quite a bit. Are there other modes in this game? Kristoffer Bergqvist: Yes, Conquest is in there as well. Shack: Are you going for the Battlefield 2 type of Conquest with a large number of points, or is it more of a smaller number as in 1942? Kristoffer Bergqvist: It will be a smaller number of points than in Battlefield 2, more in between where 1942 and Battlefield 2 were. Shack: In 1942, there were maps that were more asymmetrical in terms of equipment and vehicles. Is that something you'll have more of in BF2142? Kristoffer Bergqvist: Some of the maps are definitely asymmetrical, especially the assault maps. We've had asymmetrical maps ever since 1942, but we have to have a balance of symmetrical and asymmetrical maps. They have to be balanced, so we're testing them over and over and over for perfection. Shack: Undergrowth is frequently used for cover, but the amount of undergrowth is dependent on the user's level of graphical fidelity. Is there any chance of a server-side option to standardize this? Kristoffer Bergqvist: No, we don't. In BF2, it only renders undergrowth within a certain radius, say fifteen meters, so sometimes you have situations where players thing they are covered but they are not. So instead, we are making it so that undergrowth has less of a covering effect. It is more just for the look of the maps. Shack: Will there be any other server-side options available? Kristoffer Bergqvist: Yes, that scripting is still there. Shack: Will an editor ship with the game? Kristoffer Bergqvist: An editor will be available on release simultaneously with the game. Whether it will be on the DVD, I don't know. Shack: Have you ever considered an officially supported out of game server browser? Kristoffer Bergqvist: Of course we want to make it compatible with all the third party software that is out there, and if there is any other third party software that players want us to support, we will do that, but we do not have any plans to create one ourselves. We are more concerned with making the best game we can. Shack: How's the buddy list work? Kristoffer Bergqvist: The most important thing is that you can see if your friends are playing, and where they're playing. That's the main feature. Shack: Some players noticed that when Battlefield Vietnam was released was that certain features weren't up to date with where Battlefield 1942 was at the time. Should we be worried about BF2142 not being up to speed with the 1.4 patch for BF2? Kristoffer Bergqvist: I know what you mean. Battlefield Vietnam had a lot more in common with Battlefield 1942 than 2142 has with BF2. In those cases that there are features in the patches for BF2 are relevant to 2142, they are added, but just to clarify, the difference between 2142 and BF2 is huge. Continue to the next page for more. _PAGE_BREAK_ Shack: Are you doing anything to speed up map loading? Kristoffer Bergqvist: Of course, of course. That is just one of the things we are working on as we try to work towards the perfect game. What we do technically, I am not the one to talk about it, but it is definitely something we are working on. Shack: How satisfied were DICE and EA with how the booster packs went over, compared to traditional boxed expansions? Is that something you plan to continue in 2142? Kristoffer Bergqvist: We were satisfied with them. It was a new experience, but we were very satisfied with the booster packs. I don't know if we will do them for Battlefield 2142, but it is not impossible at all. How we do it is more up to EA. Shack: Are factors like fragmentation of the player base a concern? Kristoffer Bergqvist: Yes, of course, that is one of the issues that we have to think about. Shack: The game is coming out only about a year and a half after Battlefield 2. Do you worry at all that this will have a negative impact on sales, or that people are going to be slow to make the transition from BF2? Kristoffer Bergqvist: I think 2142 has so much new, that I don't think sales will be a problem. But I don't think people are going to abandon Battlefield 2. The games are so different, people will keep both of them. I do that now. Sometimes I'm in 2142 mode, sometimes I'm in BF2 mode. Shack: From a development perspective, are you going to continue to support Battlefield 2 after the release of 2142? Kristoffer Bergqvist: We won't abandon BF2. We have a newly created Live team at DICE, and they will be responsible for keeping the game alive, with patching, expansion packs, mod support, and things like that. Shack: And that's across the Battlefield franchise as a whole? Kristoffer Bergqvist: Yes, for all the Battlefield titles. That team will monitor the games. Shack: Are you going to have widescreen support in 2142? Kristoffer Bergqvist: We're not going to give widescreen users a higher [field of view], because that would be unfair for the other people without widescreen monitors, so the FOV will be the same. Shack: But you'll at least have native support for the aspect ratio? Kristoffer Bergqvist: Yes. Shack: Recently, EA announce that, among other games, Battlefield 2142 will include in-game advertising. This seems like kind of an odd thing, given that the game is so far in the future. What steps are being taken there? Kristoffer Bergqvist: The biggest issue for me is that the ads should not take you out of the game in any way. So, you won't see a pop-up ad or something. We have things like in-game [billboards], and they're very much in the art style of what Battlefield 2142 is, they're dirty and they fit with the world. We also have control of what ads are sent out, so of course we're going to try to have things that are appropriate with the game world. Shack: Can you name any brands? Kristoffer Bergqvist: No, not now. Shack: With the upcoming Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, there's been a lot of talk in online gaming communities about gamers going with one game or the other. How do you feel about that, and what do you see as the strong differentiators between your franchise and theirs? Kristoffer Bergqvist: We've played their game. I think it's going to be a really good game, but we are still very different. We're keeping the sandbox experience that allows the players to do whatever they want at any time. For instance, with the Titan mode, you can jump up to the enemy Titan, or you can choose to stay on the ground and to deal with the missile silos. That sandbox experience is what sets us apart the most, I think. Shack: What about the persistence mode? Kristoffer Bergqvist: We can't talk about the persistence stuff enough really, it's just so much fun. Instead of having just a few possibilities, you now have an infinite amount of different setups players around now. It makes for huge variation in gameplay, because you never really know who you're going to meet. Is this guy carrying grenades, or is he carrying rockets? It allows for completely new experiences. Plus, you always have a goal, you always want to get more toys. Shack: Can you briefly go into how that works from the player's perspective? Kristoffer Bergqvist: We offer four player kits in Battlefield 2142, but all these kits branch out to different kits. So, assault can branch out to the medic kit. You can choose to specialize in one, using points from the game to unlock equipment and abilities. Shack: Is there a single-player mode? Kristoffer Bergqvist: It will ship with co-op single-player, so you can play with your friends against bots. It's a multiplayer emulation which should give you the same experience as if you're playing online. Shack: Has DICE or EA ever considered doing some kind of free spinoff multiplayer game similar to what Activision and more recently Vivendi have done with Enemy Territory and F.E.A.R. Combat? Kristoffer Bergqvist: Not that I know of, but that decision would be with EA. Shack: Can you say anything about Bad Company at this point? Kristoffer Bergqvist: No, no. I have to defer to the press releases. Shack: Thanks for your time.