Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

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  • =98=
    Member
    • Oct 2006
    • 10299

    #1

    Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

    Demize99 AKA Alan Kertz has posted up a blog entry over at the official Battlefield site explaining how the Bad Company 2 health system is going to work. Here is what he had to say:
    A quick introduction is in order, since this is my first Battlefield Blog post. I’m Alan Kertz, though many of you already know me as Demize99. As Gameplay Designer on Bad Company 2 it’s my goal to give you insight into the design process on Bad Company 2 and give you the direct inside scoop on all the gameplay details.

    So what are my Battlefield Credentials? I’ve competed in Battlefield 1942 and Vietnam clan matches alongside being a mapper and a modder. I joined DICE over 3 years ago and since the I’ve worked as a designer on Battlefield 2142 and the original Bad Company. And now it’s my privilege to be developing Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Let’s start off this series of gameplay blog post with some in depth detail on Bad Company 2’s teamplay based health systems.

    When a soldier really needs to be restored to health fast he turns to his Medic teammates. The Medic is a special breed of soldier, able to fight just as hard as their brothers in arms, but also dedicated healers. They keep their teammates in the fight as long as possible and to bring them back into the fight when they're down. In Bad Company 2 the medic has two tools to use to keep his teammates healthy.

    The first tool is the Medkit, a portable first aid station that the Medic can deploy to heal the soldiers around him in the middle of combat. The Medkit begins working immediately and keeps working until the medical supplies are depleted. It also works in combat, so a soldier near a Medkit can duck behind cover to quickly heal up and be ready to get back in the fight. Just be careful where you deploy the Medkit, as even enemy soldiers will receive its healing benefits.

    The second tool is the Defibrillator, also known as the Shock Paddles or the Defib for short. The Medic can use the Defib on his recently incapacitated teammates to bring them immediately back to full fighting strength. The Defib allows the medic to keep his squad and team together and fighting. In a pinch the Defib's electric shock can even be administered to healthy enemy soldiers, instantly incapacitating them.

    Bad Company 2 introduces a system we call Out of Combat Healing. Like many features in Battlefield it's a reflection of a real soldier's world. Every soldier learns some basic first aid so he can patch himself up and get back into the fight. In Bad Company 2 we represent a soldier's first aid ability via the Out of Combat Heal. A soldier who's been wounded in a fight but survived will slowly heal himself. Out of Combat Healing is a not a fast process. Unlike your Medic teammate it's not going to save you in the middle of a firefight, but it will keep you from bleeding out somewhere alone on the Battlefield.

    Be sure to leave us your thoughts here!
  • iQue
    Member
    • May 2007
    • 4925

    #2
    Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

    Awesome!

    I suspected they would design it like this, seems like I was right. Hopefully we'll get more blog posts soon.

    Comment

    • imported_Apostle
      Member
      • May 2005
      • 1182

      #3
      Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

      Excellent. So how many classes are there now? Was it four in BC1? So, five now, or is there any other classes being added?

      Comment

      • troybob
        Member
        • Sep 2007
        • 2823

        #4
        Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

        automagic healing?

        I'm skeptical but I suppose I'll keep an open mind.

        I mean whats to stop someone from using a vehicle to get somewhere that an infantry cannot get to and then taking pot shots. You get a shot on them every once in a while but everytime you do they just duck behind good cover and go get a soda. When they come back - they are fully healed.

        It's going to be interesting to see how they can balance certain aspects. In the BF franchise, there are a lot of scenarios that could render a soldier un-flankable (unlike the recent CoD titles). In these cases - it would be a simple matter of ducking behind cover for long enough. If they impliment ammo-giving solders - then you could cause a lot of mischief without ever needing a medic.

        Comment

        • Darkthunder
          Member
          • Jun 2006
          • 40

          #5
          Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

          Originally posted by troybob
          automagic healing?

          I'm skeptical but I suppose I'll keep an open mind.
          Only is automatic while not in combat, and it's a very slow process. Only meant to stop the player from "bleeding out". Sounds good enough for me.

          Originally posted by troybob
          In these cases - it would be a simple matter of ducking behind cover for long enough.
          The beauty behind Battlefield Bad Company 2, is that everything is gonna be destructable. What might be considered cover for now, might not be much of any cover a few second/minutes later :P

          Overall, i'm interested in this game (as well as the recently announced BF3). I remain cautiously optimistic, and hope that they don't screw up on the patching process like they did with BF2.

          Comment

          • RangerXML
            [GEN]ヽ(`Д´)ノ[TRH]
            • Oct 2007
            • 1753

            #6
            Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

            Hey look, its the return of the BF2/2142 medic.

            Comment

            • Minmaster
              I DON'T PLAY CS!
              • Nov 2006
              • 4112

              #7
              Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

              auto regenerate health is good for snipers i guess?

              Comment

              • teetsaar123
                Random egoistic commenter
                • Apr 2006
                • 605

                #8
                Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

                I liked the healing system in Far Cry 2, that would fit into a battlefield game perfectly.

                Comment

                • troybob
                  Member
                  • Sep 2007
                  • 2823

                  #9
                  Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

                  Originally posted by darkthunder
                  Only is automatic while not in combat
                  How does the game distinguish "in combat"?

                  Source?

                  Originally posted by teetsaar123
                  I liked the healing system in Far Cry 2, that would fit into a battlefield game perfectly.
                  Can you elaborate for those of us who are not familiar with FC?

                  Comment

                  • imported_Whiskey
                    Member
                    • May 2007
                    • 3325

                    #10
                    Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

                    Originally posted by troybob
                    You get a shot on them every once in a while but everytime you do they just duck behind good cover and go get a soda. When they come back - they are fully healed.
                    Well, if they do that, they're not going to be doing anything productive to help out their team...just camping and waiting to heal up...so if that's what they want to do, their side will end up losing.

                    Comment

                    • M0t0rBreath
                      Member
                      • Oct 2006
                      • 184

                      #11
                      Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

                      I like what I'm hearing.

                      Comment

                      • teetsaar123
                        Random egoistic commenter
                        • Apr 2006
                        • 605

                        #12
                        Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

                        Originally posted by troybob
                        Can you elaborate for those of us who are not familiar with FC?


                        Something like this maybe...

                        EDIT: don't know how does this html stuff works.

                        Comment

                        • Micster
                          Member
                          • Jul 2007
                          • 2474

                          #13
                          Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

                          This sounds like a good idea.

                          Comment

                          • Dangerdog
                            Member
                            • Oct 2007
                            • 1011

                            #14
                            Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

                            I'm still a fan of games with small one-time-use health kits that only boost your health a tiny amount, never-ending health recharge is a bit much, even if it's a slow process.

                            I agree with teetsaar123 though, at the very least you should have to perform some sort of action to regain even a small amount of health back and it shouldn't allow you to return to 100%.

                            Comment

                            • troybob
                              Member
                              • Sep 2007
                              • 2823

                              #15
                              Re: Staying Healthy on the Bad Company 2 Battlefield

                              I suppose I just liked the bf1942 system.

                              If you were wounded and didn't have a medic handy, you had to get back to the closest flag to heal at a med cabinet. This helped the gameplay in two ways. First, it forced more strategy onto the individual regarding when to fall back and regroup (in order to heal). Second, it forced players to regroup at held flags meaning they would then be playing defense of a flag while they were repairing/rearming/healing(something that should be encouraged in the BF series).

                              That goes for tanks too - whatever happened to repair pads?

                              I liken this to the CoD system (perhaps mistakenly) in that you can just find a quiet spot and sit there and recharge your health. The problem I see is that due to the expanses of play area we see in the BF franchise, any non-contentious areas become heal-points. Just find a spot where no one would be traveling and you'll eventually be back at full health no matter what class you are.

                              I'm not saying it will be a bad system. I'm just curious to see the changes in playstyles we will see from individuals relative to previous BF titles.

                              Comment

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