Re: Dev's Need to Learn From PS3's MAG

@SaltEngineering I actually think the maps are just poorly laid out. On PS5, there's rarely a flag that isnt contested to the point of congestion. But that's not really the point. Yeah MAG did it right ON PS3 HARDWARE! lol!!! 256 players! A current example is Planetside 2. A lot of MAG players have been on Planetside 2 on PS4/PS5.

It's all in the purpose and layout of the game. MAG and Planetside 2 are designed first and foremost for large scale warfare with platoons and teamwork. You won't get past the barracks in MAG without teamwork and platoon coordination. You won't successfully assault a base in Planetside 2 without coordination on a level this game doesn't have.

Battlefield 2042 just basically dumps 128 players into maps not much bigger than the 64 player versions. No real reason but just to up the player count.

1 Reply

SaltEngineering
4 years ago
@ArchAngeL-PCX I mostly agree with you - except my experience with contested points has been different. I've been in a few matches where they'll roll from one point to another or back and forth between the two. Most of the time though, it seems to be one point, or two close to each other, and all the fights are there.

You're spot on with the purpose and layout though. I played a match in Renewal day before yesterday. It had just kicked off, and we took the center point. We were on one side of the objective and were holding it. I went rushing through on an ATV and got blown up. Oops. Respawn at the objective - which had enemy exclusively on their side of the wall, and friendlies inside and on our side of the wall. It respawns me on the enemy side, in the open. Every. Single. Respawn. Why? Why would you respawn people in the open on the enemy side, and in the exact same spot every time? It's understandable to die on spawn if the objective is contested, or swarming with enemies, but it's really not that hard to put a check in and spawn you on a friendly side - or better yet in a location with at least a small amount of cover. Same thing happened up at the two buildings when we held it. Every single respawn for the longest time was outside, in the open, and the opposing team had about three squads of snipers camping.

I'd completely forgotten about Planetside 2, so after you mentioned it I decided to jump back in on a fresh account. The difference is night and day. Even spawning on a vehicle in a very hot area, it never felt unfair. I died when I did something stupid - not just because I hit respawn. That game came out in 2013 - and it looks completely dated - but it was actually fun (even though I was starting over with nothing) and I'll be playing more of it. BF2042 doesn't really have that same fun factor, even though it is prettier, and there are some fun moments.

All I can really say is that without some sort of significant overhaul, it's probably going to be my last battlefield, definitely the last EA pre-order I do, and I won't spend a single cent on microtransactions. I think Portal would help out a little - since we could load up old maps - but until you've got the unlocks you want, what's the point? They're more concerned with stopping XP farm servers than making sure players have a good experience.