BF Portal WW2 Opportunity List (BF1942 + BFV)

I like the idea of the Portal eventually providing us the tools to have a full WW2 experience akin to BF1942. That being said, I think I would have a slightly different take than yours, in that we have to remember that WW2 is only one aspect of the Portal, and that they're trying to focus on it being a revival of BF1942 rather than BFV despite the use of BFV assets for efficiency sake. Maybe eventually we'll get BF1 and BFV maps ported over, but if not, my approach would be the following based on the campaigns and factions of the original BF1942, as well as what assets exist in BF1 and BFV that could be easily brought over:

First thing to remember is that factions in BF1942 had very limited gun options. At launch, all the Allies and all the Axis were virtually clones of themselves, with guns like the Soviet DP-27 and Japanese Type 99 only being patched in later. The Portal seems to be taking this approach for now, with only original BF1942 Allied and German weapons on display. However, they are including the M1 Garand, which in BF1942 was only patched in later and exclusively for the USMC on Pacific maps, which means they aren't necessarily being strict on the original rules. That means weapons from BF1 and BFV could be ported later to thematically fit future factions/maps.

JAPAN: Given that everything exists for the Japanese faction in BFV except the Type 99 LMG and Type 5, it's interesting that they aren't already being shown in the Portal. However, this is probably because all the Pacific maps in BF1942 had heavy naval warfare components, which wasn't in BFV. To truly evoke BF1942, they'd have to resurrect the aircraft carriers, battleships, destroyers, and submarines. I really hope they do, but it'll probably be a long time before we see that if ever.

Maps: The no-brainer here is Midway, as it's the most iconic of the original BF1942 Pacific maps besides Wake. Guadalcanal reimagined with dense brush akin to BFV's Solomon Islands is another good option.

Weapons: The Type 99 LMG and Type 5 semi-auto rifle would have to be made as these were Japan's unique weapons in BF1942. The Type 99 Arisaka rifle, Type 100 SMG, and Type 94 pistol could be ported from BFV to further distinguish them when the faction is added.

SOVIET UNION: Unfortunately, very little exists in BFV that could be easily ported to create a Soviet faction. That being said, some of the BF1 Russian/Red Army uniform assets could work (notably the telogreika padded jacket found on the Red Army medic). Any vehicles would have to be recreated from scratch.

Maps: Soviet maps were known for being meat-grinders with a heavy infantry and, in the case of Kursk, armored focus. Personally, I think the urban infantry combat aspect would be the best to bring back here, as we'll already have El Alamein for combined arms battles and it would be amazing to see BF1942's Stalingrad and/or Berlin with the Frostbite engine's destruction capabilities. Those maps would also reduce the need to create extra vehicles for the faction, as they didn't have any air component.

Weapons: In BF1942, the only unique Soviet weapon was the DP-27, which would have to be made from scratch. Medics also had the MP18/28, like Japan, but Battlefield Bad Company 2: Vietnam had the PPSh-41, and since BFBC2 is part of the Portal, I think it would make sense to bring that back instead. The Mosin-Nagant M38 carbine was a BFV preorder exclusive added to BF1, but that means it's an asset that could be brought over too. Finally, BF1's Nagant revolver would be a unique sidearm, as BF1942 didn't have revolvers.

FRANCE: Battlefield 1942's first expansion, The Road to Rome, added the Italian and Free French factions. BFV has literally everything needed to recreate the French faction, and it would be a shame to see that go to waste. In terms of uniform, they could recreate the French SAS style used in the original game (the green British commando beret in BFV is in fact using a color/badge combo that historically was only used by the French SAS), but rather than that mostly-British style I'd personally advocate for the more distinctly French uniforms found in BFV's Tirailleur campaign and "Liberté" multiplayer cosmetic.

Maps: Without a doubt, the BF1942 map I want to see resurrected in the Frostbite engine most is Monte Cassino. It was BF1942's most atmospheric map, and there hasn't really been anything like it in any WW2 game since, but now it would have dynamic weather (rain/thunder) and added destruction to the ruins of the monastery. There was even BFV concept art for a Cassino map, but unfortunately the game never got that.

Weapons: In BF1942, France had no unique weapons (well, initially the Sten gun, but that was later patched to also be on the British faction on Road to Rome maps) or vehicles. Thankfully, however, there are a ton of BF1 and BFV weapons that could be ported to distinguish France from the other Allies. I would port over the Lebel 1886, MAS 44, Chauchat, and Ruby pistol.

ITALY: Fewer WW2 assets exist for Italy in BFV than does for France, but the uniform can be cobbled together and the M33 helmet is in the game, including an unreleased version with Bersaglieri plumes.

Maps: Honestly, I don't think any of the maps in BF1942 where Italy was a faction would be fit to resurrect. Operation Husky would be overshadowed by Omaha Beach; Operation Baytown and Anzio were too symmetrical and with wide-open fields of view that would probably cause a lot of griefing (certainly the case of Anzio originally). Anzio might also be problematic as historically Italy had already switched sides; the only Axis Italian troops that fought there were RSI. The good thing here is that BF Portal will allow us to swap out any factions we may want on any map, which means we can always use the Italian faction on the BF1942 North African maps anyway.

Weapons: BF1942's Italy had the Breda M30 LMG, which would have to be created from scratch. Other than that, BF1's Carcano M91 Carbine and BFV's MAB 38 SMG would be good options. BF1942 also gave the Italians their own tank, the M11/39 Carro Armato, which would be unique from a gameplay perspective, but I doubt we'd see that recreated...

CANADA: Only found in BF1942's Liberation of Caen map added at the very end of the game's life cycle (patch 1.6), nothing would really distinguish this faction from the British other than voices and insignia, but would be fun in the unlikely scenario they recreate that map. They also had the M1941 Johnson LMG and a few unique vehicles.

MAP SUMMARY:

BF1942 Maps:

• Midway
• Guadalcanal
• Stalingrad
• Berlin
• Monte Cassino

To those maps I already described above, I would also propose:

Omaha Beach: This one is kind of a no-brainer for thematic and marketing purposes. To enlarge the map to better fit 128 players, I would also extend the back to include parts taken from/inspired by BF1942's Bocage map.

Tobruk: Iconic North African setting and would be a good opportunity to resurrect the Conquest Assault game mode.

Operation Market Garden: Spawning as a paratrooper on the map's edge like in the original BF1942 would be a unique twist reminiscent of BFV's short-lived Grand Operations mode.

Eagle's Nest: This BF1942 Secret Weapons map played a lot with variations in terrain and climate. Now that dynamic weather exists, would be interesting if it were possible to have some people fighting in Berchtesgaden's clear weather below while others up in the hill faced snow.

Finally, if we ever did get BFV maps ported, the ones I'd vote for are:

Arras: An early war Battle of France map, which was sorely missing from the original BF1942. Probably the most popular Western Front map in BFV, and we could use the French faction too.

Mercury: Battle of Crete, another campaign missing from BF1942. This time, have the Axis (or whatever team we choose since it's Portal) parachute in as with Market Garden.

Provence: This map's layout kind of already feels more like a BF1942 map than it does a BFV map, and Operation Dragoon also wasn't in the original BF1942. Plus, another good map for the French faction.

Iwo Jima: A reimagined BF1942 map for BFV, ported to a reimagined BF1942 in BF Portal. Seems like a natural fit.

Anyway, it's very unlikely we'll ever see a fraction of any of this. Just fun to dream about.

I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of servers of just a BF 1942 remastered

I think is gonna be even more popular than the bf3 or even BC2(Which people also love)

It's the first time since BF1 that we are going to get a more Battlefield experience than BFv, in fact I'm more jealous of that that 2042 gameplay 

@GalileoArmsWe will see.

@Cpt_McRonBF1942 and BFV are two wildly different games... I do not think you will have many long-time fans clamoring for them to be mixed together...  time will tell on this.

@Johannes_de_Nova

Perhaps I haven't been clear on my original post.

I'm an OG BF1942 player (like you i supposed) and if I had to choose I would select a remaster of BF1942 over any other opus of the franchise.

I'm fully aware that WW2 is only one part of BF Portal and other opus are getting remastered (BF3, BFBC2...) in addition to BF2042 and will take ressources.

So when you're saying that the main objective is to remaster in priority BF1942 and not BF1 and BFV as they are the last entry of the franchise, i'm totally agree. Even more when you said that to help this work and get the stuff necessary, we can use assets from said games.

@carsono311 mixing BF1942 with BFV or BF1 is up to me, if other players don't have the same POV, they can create their own vision. This is the whole point of BF Portal to give the tools and let anyone create his own version of the game.

Let's get back on your post @Johannes_de_Nova

JAPAN:

I have to admit that I had an hard time to choose between the different Pacific Maps of 1942. But I'll explain why I choosed Guadalcanal over Midway. 

As you said, what made Midway iconic was because it had the biggest Naval fleet possible and created the biggest Naval battles. But what is actually the map? It's the ocean and one Island in the middle. And Midway island even remastered would be very small and not really funny for geound based warfare.

Now think about it: BF portal unlike OG BF1942 gives you the possibilty to set the different equipments and vehicles on each map. So once the carrier, destroyers, fregates, submarines aee available in the Portal, what will be better: the small Midway Island or the bigger Guadalcanal Island?

Guadalcanal with the same Naval Fleet as Midway (or bigger if you want so) will give you the same naval waefare but the difference is that the ground battle will be more enjoyable thanks to the diversity of this island: bases, forward outposts, village, hills, jungle...

Now talking about weapons of the japanese, i didn't put the type 5 in the original post because it's a prototype weapon but anyway i'll never be against more content!

So we should have the folllowing list if we look specifically to japanese weapons:

JAPAN weapons list:

USSR / Soviet Union: 

As we said, the problem with the Soviet Union in the Battlefield franchise consist that we have too few equipment and original maps with them. 

For the map we're all agree o' Stalingrad I think but let's talk about the weaponry.

Here it's interesting because as I didn't play BF1 you gave me information I didn't know. 

So If the M38 Mosin Carbine, M1895 Nagant Revolver are part of BF1, it would make already 2 greats addition for a soviet faction! 

Talking about the BC2 PPSh41 i was perplex to see it with a drum mag of only 38 bullets on YT. Anyway if we can have a reskin of the weapon to the modrrn Frostibitex perhaps we can tweak the option of the weapon to change the ammo capacity to 71.

But we will lack of some famous equipment from USSR and here comes the main question about BF Portal is here:

Can it be possible through BF Portal to add new content that had never been in previous opus of the franchise?  Here for example the SVT40 or PPS43 or M1891/30 Mosin Nagant. 

USSR weapon list:

FRANCE:

In my opinion, France isn't a priority to be added as a faction and I expect to see first the USSR, Japan and Italy before seing it. 

Don't get it wrong about me, I fell in love with the fact my country was added to the game back in 2003, and the Monte Cassino map was in my opinion awesome as well!!! Climbing the mountain by night to attack the destoyed monetary in epic CQC battle, I loved it, and would love to see it back with new Frostbite. 

But mixing together UK and US weaponry is for me enough at the beginning to create the faction as the FFF was generally supplied with these. 

Of course if we see the Lebel 1886, I'll be happy! For the Chauchat it's more of a WW1 weapon, I'd rather prefer the FM24/29 similar to the Bren but it never made an entry in the franchise. The MAS44 was only a prototype by the time of the war ended, so one more time it's not a priority to me. 

The lone addition from previous opus sounds to be the Belgium Nagant M1895 revolver, the Ruby, the Lebel 1886, the M1922 MG, and the Chauchat if it makes a return. 

So we would have this list:

FRANCE weapons list:

ITALY:

I can't imagine a WW2 experience without the Italian campaign. It would be skipping one of the most interesting theater of the war. We need absolutely at least one map that can give different playstyle and for me it should be or Anzio or Baytown! But I definitely want to see the italian architecture and countryside. 

One more time I didn't know that BF1 had weapons that I was talking innmy OG post so that's good to know that from somewhere we can get the M91 Carcano + M1915 Beretta. BFV as the shorter M38 Carbine version of it + I forgot they added the MAB38. Of course BF1942's Breda 30 is must for the italian faction! 

The introduction of the BF1942 M11/39 Carro Armato tank is necessary to my eyes along the US/UK M3 Grant in order to really depicts the early and middle year of the war when Italy was on the African theater with the Afrika Korps. I can see myself preparing 2 El Alamein settings, one for the 1st Battle with more Italian assets to the Axis Team including M11/39 and the 2nd Battle of El Alamein with more german assets. 

ITALIAN weaponry list:

And here bellow the other 3 faction announced weapons list:

Commonwealth weapon list:

US weapon list:

GER weapon list:

Hey there @Cpt_McRon Solomon Island, Pacific definitely caught me eye along with the Jeep (BF1942 + BFV)👀

Thank you for taking the time to share this amazing list with the community💪🏾

@Cpt_McRonNo one, certainly not me, has criticized your desire here. I welcome and applaud it. You do you.

I am simply trying to temper expectations as I see them. EA DICE has only shown off a very small amount of this game and everything you want to be in it will take a lot of time to design/redesign and implement. I am not saying that cannot or will not happen, but that I strongly suspect it will be limited in scope to begin with.

@Cpt_McRonLet me also say that I hope you get everything you want!!

I am skeptical of Portal so far, but I do hope I am wrong.

@Cpt_McRon Yeah, I think we mostly have similar hopes!

Concerning Guadalcanal vs. Midway, I am 100% in agreement and initially would have written that I think Guadalcanal would be the best option. However, I noticed in conversations about this subject that the majority of people were talking about Midway, which also frequently scores highly on "most memorable maps" of the franchise. Similar to Omaha, I figure it's basically a shoe-in for popularity/marketing purposes. But I added "Guadalcanal is another good option" too since it's actually what I think would be the best for gameplay.

Concerning Soviet weapons, actually the original Battlefield Vietnam did have the M91/30 as a sniper rifle and BF1 also had the original M91 rifle, so those are both possible alternatives. I only mentioned the M38 carbine because they anachronistically added it to BF1 but probably had originally made it with the intent of eventually using it in BFV... As to whether we can get brand new weapons like the SVT-40, this is something that remains to be seen. It'll just depend on how far they want to take the Portal in its own direction. For now, they seem to only be marketing it as a revival of classic elements of the franchise, so I'm reluctant to consider anything that hasn't ever been in the franchise before. One can hope though. On that note, the Fedorov Avtomat was in BF1 and did see limited service early in WW2, so that's another thing they could add...

Concerning France, I think they're at least as important as Italy due to the list of maps present in BF1942, many of which France could be used as a faction on (such as Battle of the Bulge). France was usually the third largest Allied force on Western Front campaigns beginning with the Tunisian Campaign in 1942 (the exception being Normandy since they were allocated to Operation Dragoon). Concerning weapons, late-war France used a mix of French, American, and British weapons in varying quantities depending on unit/battle. In Tunisia, the French XIX Corps used their 1940 arsenal including vehicles. In Italy, the French Expeditionary Corps continued to use large numbers of FM 24/29, Berthier carbines, and Ruby pistols. Many new forces integrated into First Army in 1944 used a mix - lots of 1940 equipment and MAS 36 rifles show up in photos of the defense of Strasbourg. The Forces Françaises de l'Ouest fighting on the Atlantic Pockets until the end of the war even used 1940 tanks and planes. So given all that, I definitely think the Lebel 1886 and Ruby should make it in. I believe the MAS 44 deserves to be in as well - it's the closest the franchise has to the MAS 36, and is almost identical to the MAS 40 prototypes that saw combat trials in 1940, and which disappeared into the hands of the Resistance during the war. The Chauchat was in service in auxiliary units in WW2 (anti-air units, artillerymen, pionniers in infantry regiments, reservists, etc.), but yes it is less distinctive of the era. I included it mostly due to its popularity in BF1 and BFV.

To add to the above, BF1 also had the FT-17 tank, which France continued to use extensively in WW2 despite it being totally outdated. Wouldn't mind pitting that against the M11/39 Carro Armato, lol.

Concerning Italy, they were ironically a comparatively minor participant in the Italian Campaign after Sicily, since they surrendered at the start of Operation Baytown. That being said, I definitely want to have the faction so I can swap them into battles in North Africa and the Eastern Front (everyone forgets about the Italian 8th Army). In terms of actual Italian Campaign maps besides Monte Cassino, I was always fond of BF1942's Operation Husky, and much preferred it over Omaha Beach. Maybe Dice can eventually do both after all? The Sicilian coastline reimagined with modern tech would make a different impression than it did in BF1942, where it was somewhat bare.

I think there is going to be a bit of the Roblox or Minecraft about it, in that there are going to be people dabbling and others getting their teeth into it and carving a reputation for themselves. We'll gravitate to those game designers that set up playable games. I used to teach computing, and every kid used to join a class thinking they were going to immediately code a game, and not realise that it takes a lot of learning before that happens. I watch my granddaughter browse Roblox after Roblox game looking for something decent to play. I'm imagining that there will be some sort or "like" system so we can gauge popularity and playability, but we will all have our favourites.

I also expect that the Portal will be represented well on You Tube with the most popular designers pulling together a community/audience around them.