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Let's gooo!! Can't wait to hear what you all think :D Hit me with all the feedback next week!
Let's gooo!! Can't wait to hear what you all think :D Hit me with all the feedback next week!
Let's gooo!! Can't wait to hear what you all think :D Hit me with all the feedback next week!
As the Orbital level designer I can mainly answer questions and discuss feedback regarding the map itself, though I will still pass on other feedback too ofc :)
It looks amazing! If you don't mind me asking about the rocket launch succeeding/failing, do you anticipate it'll be a 50/50 split? Or is it like Siege of Shanghai where, once everybody figured out how to take down the tower, it got destroyed in every game?
I don't wanna give too much away yet, but I can tell you I actively wanted to avoid the Siege of Shanghai scenario where you could trigger it right away. The rocket and its launch is automated, but maybe players and/or a storm can impact the outcome ;)
Will you or some other colleague be online from time to time during the Early Beta for some live chat feedback? 😄
I'll most likely be playing with you all! But i'll be extra active on twitter and reddit during it :)
Is the commo rose (the voice line menu for stuff like “I need ammo!” or “I meed a ride!”) returning?
Yup there is a commo rose!
Can't wait! I haven't seen anywhere confirm, but will the Beta have crossplay enabled? Thanks!
We'll get into those details as we get closer!
This looks phenomenal. The effects, the aesthetic, everything looks great! Great work! One question, how do next-gen consoles hold up in terms of effects and graphics?
We (well I say we but actually way smarter and more skilled people than me really) are working on that to make sure it looks good wherever you play :)
Can't wait to try out Orbital again, is the tornado on this time?
Yes!
So I assume both the tornado and rocket launches (or not launches) don't happen every single match so to keep it varied?
Correct! At least the weather and storm, the automated launch is part of the map but the outcome can vary. For example if it launches successfully it doesn't alter the map too much, other than making the launch platform more air friendly. If it explodes however, it's mayhem in the best possible way :D
Sorry, one last question. I noticed you said the flag on the assembly building is on the roof now, is that the B flag?
Correct! It used to be inside the building but is now the rooftop with the helipad
Can you be on the rocket when it launches and ride it up into the sky? :)
I'll leave some things to be discovered!
Did you take any inspiration from just cause 3 because that’s the first thing I thought of when I saw this map
Haha I can see that, but for me the main reference was caspian border from bf3. Not the layout itself but how we use vegetation and a sort of circular flow for the map
Quick question by minimum system requirements do yall mean GTX 1050 Ti will be able to play the game fine, or just 1080p 30 fps?
I'm actually not 100% sure, will have more answers as we get closer!
Hmmm, very interesting indeed!
It played way better in Conquest. The inside with the half-assembled rocket is still a flag in other modes :)
Hey I like this, random is good. Keeps things fresh. I'm interested to see all the little details of the map again, enjoyed it during the play test. Hoping with all the tweaks it's even better! Interested to see how the moved flag position (I think it was b, the one inside the big tower) affects that areas gameplay.
Yeah that's the idea! And hopefully with some things random and some things player-impacted you get a lot of variation which was the main goal. And yeah in Conquest it played better with the flag on top of the building, but the inside with the half-assembled rocket might be a flag in other modes ;)
Will the Beta be Cross platform play as well?
Will share when we get closer to beta!
Can't wait to get that polished Orbital goodness! One question though, could you go deeper into what the findings were from the playtest that made you move the Assembly Capture Point from inside the building to the rooftop? Too chaotic, too many angles to die from in the original location or something else?
Sure, the main thing was that it swallowed players a bit too much, which in conquest isn't really what we were looking for. Essentially fighting in there is really exciting when you have a lot of people there, but we cannot guarantee that in 128 player conquest since there are so many other areas to fight in, but in other modes that is less of an issue ;)
I know you're a level designer and this stuff is technically not supposed to be your field (though I'm sure you know this stuff more than I do lol) but do you know if you guys will support the Vulkan API alongside DirectX 12. Thank you
That is an excellent question that unfortunately I don't know haha, hopefully we can release more info regarding that stuff as we get closer to beta and launch!
Hey! I'm a programmer and would like to work with level design in the future. Any tips? Sorry it's not BF related hahah
Yo! Awesome =D And yeah my main tip is to just make layouts, for any game! Anywhere you can easily make stuff, either just top down layouts or actual blocked out maps in a level editor is great. Key to designing maps is just analyzing maps you enjoy and why you enjoy them (and hopefully why others enjoy them too) and getting used to making stuff (and iterating!). I rarely block something out perfectly on the first try (if ever), it's all about starting with a main idea what the intent is and then iterate iterate iterate!
Wait. You were a level designer on this??? Awesome. Man thanks for all the hard work, especially through these difficult work conditions. Thanks to all of you.
Indeed I was! Designed this one and Renewal :)
Wondering if any UI feedback would be passed on. It would be nice to see the kill/damage/action XP log go back to the center again as it was in previous games or at least have an option to toggle it to center. The kill feed on the left and XP feed on the right obfuscate the action/kill feedback
Anything that a lot of people feedback on while be looked at ofc!
Hey I have a question. What are the conditions that affect the Rocket Launch being either a failure or a success????
At certain stages during the launch sequence the rocket is vulnerable and there are visual cues for when that happens, that's all i'll say for now ;)
You are the map designer or coded the map?
map designer! I wasn't alone though, there are also a bunch of talented artists, vfx, audio, qa, lighting and tech people working on the map ofc!
Just wanna say that I am VERY pleased to see some love for the UI since we’ve shown this trailer. I’m going to take a moment to be bias here (forgive me) - but there are many folks in UI that make it functional, and look as intended by the artists within the engine who have done an amazing job. Many unsung heroes working extremely hard to polish up and improve the experience overall and I’m proud to see the quality ramp up over time.
See you guys on the battlefield very soon 🤘🏻
I am curious if the kill feed is still a placeholder and probably will be adjusted further by launch along with the hit markers? I love the red hit marker explosion that happens you get that sweet sweet kill.
Everything is subject to change during this moment in time. With UI in particular, so it’s very possible they may get an iteration but I don’t expect things in the HUD to change too drastically from beta to release. Perhaps afterwards if there’s some significant feedback.
Honestly I think the stuff looks great and I'm looking forward to trying it out. I didn't see any headshots in the trailer so I'm curious how those hitmarkers and sounds will be. Going for the headshots in the beta just to see that lol.
All I’ll say is that I think you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise.
It seems the map is really big. A map that big does it contain certain areas/flags where was built to be more "soldier x soldier", "tank x tank"?
For sure! It was built to make sure there is something for everyone :) For example if you want to fight all the time go to the launch site sectors (Assembly Building - Crawlerway - Launch Platform) and if you want a slower pace fight along the ridge on the side sectors
Ok I guess I have a question. Maps being massive, draw distance is important. Do you use fog, terrain or any other masking techniques? Is the entire map and all 128 players rendered even though you can't obviously see from one end to the map to the other?
Finally, is there hard cover for infantry against tanks in open ground or is it a series of slopes where the average infantry man gets blown up by airplanes and tanks without a chance?
We mainly use occluders (that literally removes anything behind it so it wont render, but is only used in indestructible things like bigger buildings and terrain/rocks etc. Also we have LODs on the assets making sure that they are very basic from far away (essentially making sure assets arent rendered with all their detail you see up close from far away).
Yes! I'm an infantry player mainly myself so I always make sure there are some hard cover, to varying degree ofc. Some areas are meant for vehicles but even then it's great to have some stuff to play around.
Can you please tell us if this is the beta build or just for showcase. The website and Twitter says only 4 specialists will be available to play but all other specialists appear in the beta trailer.
For the beta there are 4 specialists selected, but I think all content was used to make the trailer. For launch all 10 specialists are in though :)
How much destruction is on Orbital? Can you destroy most of the map or is it a little limited?
It's mainly either the rocket event when it explodes or the smaller scale structures with more detailed destruction. The large assembly building for example is indestructible, but there is a bunch of small scale destruction too on mid sized assets
Which one would you say is more interesting?
Renewal was definitely the more unique one to work on, since the concept of it is pretty bananas. Orbital in that way is more straight forward, but it also has the rocket and stuff so both were fun :D
So the launch always happens no matter what and the outcome is either a crash or a successful launch? Or is there a chance the automated launch fails and nothing happens? That could be another variable for the map!
But I haven’t played it yet so I don’t know if that would work or not.
Correct, but when it happens varies. It can also either launch or crash based on player actions during the launch sequence, but there is also a the storm that might or might not go past the rocket taking care of it for you. Essentially we wanted it to be a main part of the map but how and when it happens should feel more dynamic than just 1 outcome, and even though there are technically 2 outcome there is a lot of variation surrounding them that still makes them feel different. Looking forward to getting more feedback as you all get to play it :)
Not about Orbital specifically but hopefully it's something you would know.
When using the AI Backfill option for Portal will we get up to 127 AI Soldiers for a full match even if playing Solo?
Yeah if you play on PC/PS5/Xbox Series X you should be able to play with up to 127 AI
K. Got it. Avoid obvious tank lanes it is. Do you use server side rendering for unseen players?
That i'm not actually sure how it works, sorry!
Will we be able to grapple the rocket as it launches?
I'll leave some things to be discovered!
Mhhhh I see, so there is no chance of nothing happening and the rocket just sitting there. Could have been a different, rare “third outcome”. But again, as you said, the launch is part of the map experience and I still have to play it.
I just think it could be an additional variant, having a small chance of “nothing” happening. Less grandiose, sure, but it would add a different unexpected outcome rather than knowing every time that the rocket is going to (attempt) launch no matter what.
There are definitely scenarios in other modes where that happens, i'm mainly talking about Conquest and for the beta :)
Would you say the maps in this game are designed more for conquest or more for breakthrough? For example I'd say bf4's maps feel more designed for conquest, while the bf1 maps feel more designed for breakthrough. Your Iwo Jima map also seems to work best on breakthrough. Can you provide any insight on this...?
Love reading all of your insights. I would love it if we can get those map designer interviews, as seen in the blog, for every map in the game
Yeah older games were usually focused on Conquest since Breakthrough wasn't a thing back then, and as you saw Iwo Jima was definitely made for breakthrough first. In BF2042 it's more of a mix. Essentially they are made for Conquest but we always strive to have a sense of journey through a map, which makes it easier to make a Breakthrough layout too :)
u/kalletheslayer Did you take the inspiration of the large tower building in Orbital from the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building?
How challenging was it to build the building and all it’s accessible floors?
It was a combination of references for that one, from launch sites all over the world :D But yeah making it work was a challenge for sure! It plays very differently depending on mode etc, but hopefully we landed in a good place!