I agree with much of what you have said. I enjoyed past BF games like BF Vietnam, BF2, BF2142, BC1/2 and BF3. ....even BF4 to an extent although not as much as the past titles. BF1 was decent but it never really hooked me due to the setting because at that point I was burned out on WW2 themes and WW1 just didn't feel like much of a departure. ....worse for me in fact as I found the weapons unengaging. Go figure, when they announced BFV, they lost me (not to mention the drama surrounding the game, problems, etc.).
I had high hopes for "BF6" as there was a rumor that it would be using past games like BF3 as a foundation. Well, the reveal for BF2142 came around and at that very moment I wrote off this iteration of the franchise as well. I am just not interested in all the sci-fi tech stuff and the frantic action the video showed. ....much less so as more information dropped.
However, then they announced the mysterious mode called Portal and I was hooked. In fact, that is the only reason my friends and I bought BF2042. .....by the way, Portal may have started out with only 6 classic maps but the new BF2042 maps were added last month for a total of 13 maps all together that you can play in that mode with any of the assets (1942, BC2, BF3 and BF2042). The problem is they likely killed it by dragging their feet on the progression issue. I also think it could have done (or possibly still do) a lot better with persistent servers. .....maybe even offer rentals there as well as an option. The big issue is that once a server is up, it only remains up when there are still people populating it unless the owner takes it down.
Lucky for me, our group tends to enjoy more co-op / PvE scenarios so we are generally unphased by some of the more glaring shortcomings of Portal.
I still can't believe they don't have voice comms in this game or the ability to invite more than 3 friends. Our group have about 8 people so when more than 4 of us are on, we have to figure out ways to try and get us all on the same side. Given that games such as these (e.g. BF, CoD, etc.) can attract groups of friends, clans, etc., it amazes me that they have shunned this part of their player base. Quite frankly, I have zero interest in playing with randoms most times and prefer to team up with friends. ....the more the better. What's worse is that they reset the matches every time so even if you are ok with working with strangers and find a good group of folks to play with, you will all be disbanded.
For a game that is supposed to be focused on team play, it's quite the opposite as there is really hardly any incentive. It's just solo players looking out for themselves or small groups on private chat doing what they can do in their own little unit. As it is, when more than 4 of us are on, the others feel like a 5th wheel and we usually end up leaving BF to go play something else that will allow all of us to be on together.
