Introducing Battlefield Play4Free: Bringing the RPG back in FPS
From the Battlefield Blog:
Today we would like to introduce you to Battlefield Play4Free, the next generation Free to Play game from the EASY team that brought you Battlefield Heroes. Battlefield Play4Free combines the best of the Battlefield series with the classic maps from Battlefield 2, the weapons and animations from Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and the RPG elements (as in roleplaying, not rocket-propelled grenades!) from Battlefield Heroes. All in a Free to Play web environment. And without further ado, here to take you through the roleplaying aspects of the game is Colin M. Clarke, Game Designer at the EASY studio:
Thanks! So Battlefield Play4Free is a fast, adrenaline pumping shooter that keeps players locked in, without losing the larger scale warfare that makes Battlefield so unique and, well, cool!
Though we have tried to stay true to some of the ‘rules’ found in core-shooters, we have also changed up some big things. One of them being allowing players to control the way their character grows. Rather than a linear progress where you unlock gun 1, item 1, gun 2 in a pre-determined marching order, we have constructed a system that allows players to earn Training Points that can be used to take their brand-new soldier and turn him into their own customized combat veteran. Our goal is to get away from "earning the next thing" and move towards "earning the thing you want".
Why character focused vs player focused?
One of the regular Battlefield experiences was that you became fond of a certain kit, possibly even spent a majority of your time playing just one kit; but you never really became that kit. You were a soldier with many hats rather than a character with a niche combat role. For Battlefield P4F we wanted players to become directly invested in a character and be able to craft that class experience into their own niche style. In our beta there is currently a re-occurring discussion on “What is a recon player supposed to do?” which, to me, shows that we we’re onto something.
Kit niche shifting
The two sides to the recon debate are "Recons should find and eliminate targets from long range" and "Recon should be moving all the time, scouting enemy locations for their team mates and disrupting enemy movement with flanking attacks". This is a bit of a generalization of the ongoing debates, so I hope the forum regulars can forgive me. What I like about this discussion, though, is that both sides are completely correct.
The point of customizing your character
With the recon class a player can find two very different niches in the battle where they can excel. The recon that takes the point, scouts with his Motion Sensor and uses his Combat Training to find, outflank and eliminate enemies only has some similarities to the recon who unfolds his lawn chair and takes shots at enemies from 80+ meters away. They are the same kit, but each player has his own personalized combat experience within that kit. One thing I like is the amount of STUFF that I can choose from when spending Training Points. Sometimes I find I get a little bored of being a sniper and I want to get into the mix and see how well I do on the front line. Just by changing up my skills I can take my super sniper and turn him into a tactical infiltration recon that keeps my team constantly posted on enemy positions.
How do you break down a battlefield experience?
At first glance we thought cutting up and categorizing the minute-to-minute battlefield experience would be simple; we have nearly 20 years combined experience working on Battlefield and set down to hit a quick-n-dirty outline. As things progressed we found that we had created a fairly bloated list selection of categories:
Equipment Expertise – Make me better with my toys
Physical Training – Make me better at running, jumping, climbing trees, etc
Combat Expertise – Make me a more informed soldier
Vehicle Training – Let me be a better driver, pilot, taxi-chopper guy
Sadly this breakdown was a bit bulky and not really what we wanted. So after a helpful nudge from our production team I set to refine the skill trees into something a little more compact and sleek.
Moving from rough to refined
After some brain storming sessions and design review we managed to get each class chopped town to fit two overall categories:
Equipment Expertise: Make me better with my existing combat equipment and allow me to unlock new equipment as I progress
Combat Expertise: Make me more informed and more versatile regardless of the equipment I carry
A nice thing with these categories is they fit the ideas of "Stuff I use" and "Stuff I see". So a player who was confident of his skill with the weapons he has, and who wanted to see more and have a greater understanding of the surrounding chaos, can train deeply into Combat Training. While the player who is all about using his weapons and equipment to impact the combat can spend deeply into Equipment Training.
With the trees refined, implemented, and functioning in our beta it is now a matter of adjusting each kit option to enable players to find their own niche within every class. As our beta progresses and feedback comes in through the forums and through playing with our beta testers we have found that each person is becoming more attached to their kit; and with each moment where a player talks about having to make a hard choice between one skill or another I can see the goals we set out to achieve a little closer to reality.
I hope that this summary (okay, I guess 9 paragraphs is not quite a summary) has helped answer some questions about what sets Battlefield: Play4Free apart from other shooters. It’s about the choices you get to make for your character. You can be the assault, recon, medic, or engineer that you think is best. That’s why one player’s skill choices are just as awesome as another’s. Unless it’s the choice to get into a full heli and pilot it straight into the water… HATE it when that happens.
For those that tried the first phase of the beta and did not go any further, they've made a lot of changes and updates. It is good to see everything coming along and many will be able to have a modern RPS/FPS game.
Source
<a href="http://images.totalgamingnetwork.com/images/BFP4Fdw32.jpg"><img src="http://images.totalgamingnetwork.com/images/thumb_BFP4Fdw32.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>
Today we would like to introduce you to Battlefield Play4Free, the next generation Free to Play game from the EASY team that brought you Battlefield Heroes. Battlefield Play4Free combines the best of the Battlefield series with the classic maps from Battlefield 2, the weapons and animations from Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and the RPG elements (as in roleplaying, not rocket-propelled grenades!) from Battlefield Heroes. All in a Free to Play web environment. And without further ado, here to take you through the roleplaying aspects of the game is Colin M. Clarke, Game Designer at the EASY studio:
Thanks! So Battlefield Play4Free is a fast, adrenaline pumping shooter that keeps players locked in, without losing the larger scale warfare that makes Battlefield so unique and, well, cool!
<a href="http://images.totalgamingnetwork.com/images/P4F1.jpg"><img src="http://images.totalgamingnetwork.com/images/thumb_P4F1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>
Battlefield the Play4Free way!
Battlefield the Play4Free way!
Though we have tried to stay true to some of the ‘rules’ found in core-shooters, we have also changed up some big things. One of them being allowing players to control the way their character grows. Rather than a linear progress where you unlock gun 1, item 1, gun 2 in a pre-determined marching order, we have constructed a system that allows players to earn Training Points that can be used to take their brand-new soldier and turn him into their own customized combat veteran. Our goal is to get away from "earning the next thing" and move towards "earning the thing you want".
Why character focused vs player focused?
One of the regular Battlefield experiences was that you became fond of a certain kit, possibly even spent a majority of your time playing just one kit; but you never really became that kit. You were a soldier with many hats rather than a character with a niche combat role. For Battlefield P4F we wanted players to become directly invested in a character and be able to craft that class experience into their own niche style. In our beta there is currently a re-occurring discussion on “What is a recon player supposed to do?” which, to me, shows that we we’re onto something.
Kit niche shifting
The two sides to the recon debate are "Recons should find and eliminate targets from long range" and "Recon should be moving all the time, scouting enemy locations for their team mates and disrupting enemy movement with flanking attacks". This is a bit of a generalization of the ongoing debates, so I hope the forum regulars can forgive me. What I like about this discussion, though, is that both sides are completely correct.
The point of customizing your character
With the recon class a player can find two very different niches in the battle where they can excel. The recon that takes the point, scouts with his Motion Sensor and uses his Combat Training to find, outflank and eliminate enemies only has some similarities to the recon who unfolds his lawn chair and takes shots at enemies from 80+ meters away. They are the same kit, but each player has his own personalized combat experience within that kit. One thing I like is the amount of STUFF that I can choose from when spending Training Points. Sometimes I find I get a little bored of being a sniper and I want to get into the mix and see how well I do on the front line. Just by changing up my skills I can take my super sniper and turn him into a tactical infiltration recon that keeps my team constantly posted on enemy positions.
<a href="http://images.totalgamingnetwork.com/images/P4F2.jpg"><img src="http://images.totalgamingnetwork.com/images/thumb_P4F2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>
Can't get enough of Karkand!
Can't get enough of Karkand!
How do you break down a battlefield experience?
At first glance we thought cutting up and categorizing the minute-to-minute battlefield experience would be simple; we have nearly 20 years combined experience working on Battlefield and set down to hit a quick-n-dirty outline. As things progressed we found that we had created a fairly bloated list selection of categories:
Equipment Expertise – Make me better with my toys
Physical Training – Make me better at running, jumping, climbing trees, etc
Combat Expertise – Make me a more informed soldier
Vehicle Training – Let me be a better driver, pilot, taxi-chopper guy
Sadly this breakdown was a bit bulky and not really what we wanted. So after a helpful nudge from our production team I set to refine the skill trees into something a little more compact and sleek.
<a href="http://images.totalgamingnetwork.com/images/PF43.jpg"><img src="http://images.totalgamingnetwork.com/images/thumb_PF43.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>
Two differently specialized recon kits. The first focusing on getting lots of toys. The second focusing on having much more utility within infantry combat and scouting.
Two differently specialized recon kits. The first focusing on getting lots of toys. The second focusing on having much more utility within infantry combat and scouting.
Moving from rough to refined
After some brain storming sessions and design review we managed to get each class chopped town to fit two overall categories:
Equipment Expertise: Make me better with my existing combat equipment and allow me to unlock new equipment as I progress
Combat Expertise: Make me more informed and more versatile regardless of the equipment I carry
A nice thing with these categories is they fit the ideas of "Stuff I use" and "Stuff I see". So a player who was confident of his skill with the weapons he has, and who wanted to see more and have a greater understanding of the surrounding chaos, can train deeply into Combat Training. While the player who is all about using his weapons and equipment to impact the combat can spend deeply into Equipment Training.
With the trees refined, implemented, and functioning in our beta it is now a matter of adjusting each kit option to enable players to find their own niche within every class. As our beta progresses and feedback comes in through the forums and through playing with our beta testers we have found that each person is becoming more attached to their kit; and with each moment where a player talks about having to make a hard choice between one skill or another I can see the goals we set out to achieve a little closer to reality.
I hope that this summary (okay, I guess 9 paragraphs is not quite a summary) has helped answer some questions about what sets Battlefield: Play4Free apart from other shooters. It’s about the choices you get to make for your character. You can be the assault, recon, medic, or engineer that you think is best. That’s why one player’s skill choices are just as awesome as another’s. Unless it’s the choice to get into a full heli and pilot it straight into the water… HATE it when that happens.
For those that tried the first phase of the beta and did not go any further, they've made a lot of changes and updates. It is good to see everything coming along and many will be able to have a modern RPS/FPS game.
Source
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