Battlefield 2: Booster Packs Interview
1/11/06 - We had a chance to talk with Tom Galt, Lead Level Designer at DICE Canada about the upcoming booster packs.
Planet Battlefield: What are the new features of the booster packs? Such as maps, vehicles, weapons.
Tom Galt: The Booster Pack, Euro Force, introduces a fictitious EU army to the Battlefield, along with 7 new hand weapons and 4 new vehicles. They do battle against the MEC and China in 3 new levels, and in each one we're trying to offer veteran BF2 players something different from original BF2 and Special Forces levels.
In Operation Smoke Screen, the MEC and EU battle over a bombed out oil refinery, where a thick cloud of smoke blankets the center of the map making it especially difficult for jets and helicopters to identify targets on the ground. Taraba Quarry is another MEC vs. EU battle, where the fighting is centered around an old dam and quarry site. With these two levels, we've tried to bring back the large scale open warfare that made Battlefield 1942 so popular, with lots of tanks and a variety of ground and air vehicles to choose from.
The Great Wall of China is an EU vs. Chinese battle, relying on ground combat to create good choke point fighting within an enclosed area of the Great Wall. This map has a great mix of vehicle and infantry action, with intense fighting both around and on top of the wall itself. The 16 player version of the Great Wall features an EU paradrop over the wall itself, and the firefights that ensue are just incredible!
Planet Battlefield: Will there be a new gameplay and forces introduced in this booster pack?
Tom Galt: The EU forces are introduced in this Booster Pack, but no new gameplay modes are planned.
Planet Battlefield: Will there be more ranks introduced? If so, can you please list a few.
Tom Galt: There are 10 new ranks being added, from Second Lieutenant all the way up the chain to General. However, these are being added in the next patch, not in the Booster Pack. So these new ranks will be available for free to all owners of BF2.
Planet Battlefield: Would this booster pack affect normal Battlefield 2 play? Such as having flashbangs, F2000 that was introduced with Special Forces.
Tom Galt: Booster Packs are content bundles only, they don't affect normal Battlefield 2 play. Installing a Booster Pack doesn't alter any existing Battlefield content, so owners of the Booster Pack can still play original Battlefield 2 and Special Forces maps online with players that don't purchase the Booster Packs. We're still working on patches for Battlefield 2, and any fixes or features that affect Battlefield gameplay as a whole are introduced in these, which users can still download free of charge.
Planet Battlefield: How big would is this booster pack?
Tom Galt: I believe the Booster Pack weighs in at around 300MB.
Planet Battlefield: Will we expect any weather environment improvements, such as rain, snow, etc?
Tom Galt: No new weather effects have been introduced, although the giant clouds of smoke in Operation Smoke Screen are really cool and have a big impact on the gameplay in the area.
Planet Battlefield: Can you tell us the exact price of the booster pack?
Tom Galt: I believe the Booster Packs are selling for U.S. $9.99
http://planetbattlefield.gamespy.com...s.Detail&id=16
1/11/06 - We had a chance to talk with Tom Galt, Lead Level Designer at DICE Canada about the upcoming booster packs.
Planet Battlefield: What are the new features of the booster packs? Such as maps, vehicles, weapons.
Tom Galt: The Booster Pack, Euro Force, introduces a fictitious EU army to the Battlefield, along with 7 new hand weapons and 4 new vehicles. They do battle against the MEC and China in 3 new levels, and in each one we're trying to offer veteran BF2 players something different from original BF2 and Special Forces levels.
In Operation Smoke Screen, the MEC and EU battle over a bombed out oil refinery, where a thick cloud of smoke blankets the center of the map making it especially difficult for jets and helicopters to identify targets on the ground. Taraba Quarry is another MEC vs. EU battle, where the fighting is centered around an old dam and quarry site. With these two levels, we've tried to bring back the large scale open warfare that made Battlefield 1942 so popular, with lots of tanks and a variety of ground and air vehicles to choose from.
The Great Wall of China is an EU vs. Chinese battle, relying on ground combat to create good choke point fighting within an enclosed area of the Great Wall. This map has a great mix of vehicle and infantry action, with intense fighting both around and on top of the wall itself. The 16 player version of the Great Wall features an EU paradrop over the wall itself, and the firefights that ensue are just incredible!
Planet Battlefield: Will there be a new gameplay and forces introduced in this booster pack?
Tom Galt: The EU forces are introduced in this Booster Pack, but no new gameplay modes are planned.
Planet Battlefield: Will there be more ranks introduced? If so, can you please list a few.
Tom Galt: There are 10 new ranks being added, from Second Lieutenant all the way up the chain to General. However, these are being added in the next patch, not in the Booster Pack. So these new ranks will be available for free to all owners of BF2.
Planet Battlefield: Would this booster pack affect normal Battlefield 2 play? Such as having flashbangs, F2000 that was introduced with Special Forces.
Tom Galt: Booster Packs are content bundles only, they don't affect normal Battlefield 2 play. Installing a Booster Pack doesn't alter any existing Battlefield content, so owners of the Booster Pack can still play original Battlefield 2 and Special Forces maps online with players that don't purchase the Booster Packs. We're still working on patches for Battlefield 2, and any fixes or features that affect Battlefield gameplay as a whole are introduced in these, which users can still download free of charge.
Planet Battlefield: How big would is this booster pack?
Tom Galt: I believe the Booster Pack weighs in at around 300MB.
Planet Battlefield: Will we expect any weather environment improvements, such as rain, snow, etc?
Tom Galt: No new weather effects have been introduced, although the giant clouds of smoke in Operation Smoke Screen are really cool and have a big impact on the gameplay in the area.
Planet Battlefield: Can you tell us the exact price of the booster pack?
Tom Galt: I believe the Booster Packs are selling for U.S. $9.99
http://planetbattlefield.gamespy.com...s.Detail&id=16
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