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‘Battlefield 1’ Developers Hoping To Avoid Rocky Start Like ‘Battlefield 4’

By Bryan Star
Published on: 14:19 PST, May 8, 2016

Fans of the Battlefield series can rest assured that developers are aware of past hiccups.

Battlefield 1, Dice’s new first person shooter that was announced very recently, already has a promising start. Fans are excited about what little gameplay they’ve seen, and they’re also excited about the World War 1 period that has been introduced. But as we get closer to the day when players can get their hands on the game, one can only wonder if the Battlefield 1 release will be similar to that in its past. Developers are certainly hoping not.

According to Gamespot, it’s clear that developers want this release to go smoothly. Reportedly, GamesBeat got in contact with Dice to ask just what steps they would take in order to avoid a release like the one Battlefield 4 suffered.

If you’re unfamiliar with how the launch went, players described it as “chaotic” and “unacceptable.” The multiplayer aspect of the game was unavailable to many on release due to so many problems, and the uproar it caused forced developers to put everything on hold. This included DLC and even “future projects” that had not been discussed at the time. EA Boss Andrew Wilson spoke to Eurogamer, and wanted it known that the game’s ambition was its issue.

“For clarity it wasn’t actually a server problem for Battlefield 4,” he said. “It was a client side problem. Right now the game is playing extremely well, and people are in there and having a lot of fun. I’m still playing it.”

Wilson went on to clarify, noting that it was the game’s overall vision that brought trouble into the mix.

“Think about what Battlefield 4 was: 64-player multiplayer, giant maps, 1080p, Levolution that was changing the gameplay design in an emergent way. There is a chance there are things you are going to miss through the development cycle. And you end up in a situation we had with Battlefield 4. For me, the situation we had was unacceptable. For the team it was unacceptable. We have worked tirelessly since then to make sure the gameplay experienced got to where it absolutely should have been at launch and we’re focused on that and we continue to deliver value to that player base.”

Needless to say, Battlefield was held in a high standard and fell short on release. This is why developers are so determined to make Battlefield 1 a different matter.

The Battlefield 1 interview by GamesBeat was conducted with lead designer Daniel Berlin. He noted that Star Wars Battlefront had a relatively smooth release of its own, and this was evidence that they were improving in the “release” department. For those who are unaware, they’re also releasing an open beta that will allow players to bring out the game’s issues. With this done, Berlin and developers will hopefully be able to iron out the major problems that may surface. Battlefield 4 had beta events but still fell short. Perhaps this aided in the problems that hadn’t been caught beforehand, as they’re certainly pushing an open beta for the new game’s agenda.

Berlin had this to say about the hopes of a smooth release coming about for Battlefield 1.

“It’s a focus for us. We know Battlefield 4 was a difficult launch. We’ve been working on this for a long time. We released Battlefront, which did really well. We’re pushing an open beta to ensure stability. We’ve taken a lot of learnings from that experience, and we feel like we succeeded with Battlefront. We’ll take everything we learned there and apply it to Battlefield 1 as well.”

Currently, Battlefield 1 has a release date of October 21. Hopefully, this will be enough time for a beta to take place somewhere between. It’s still a fresh announcement, so players should find relief in Dice’s keen eye on the matter.

[Photo by Dan R. Krauss/Getty Images]

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