Forum Discussion

New Traveler

2 years ago

RE: Feature request – Add a voluntary suppression option please

I ask for you to please add a voluntary suppression option in the options menu such that users who enable this will be able to experience suppression visuals and functions similar to Battlefield 3. I have attached a few links from your official Battlefield YouTube channel to help convey what I am looking for:

Battlefield 3 Fault Line Gameplay trailer (very nice HUD shake by the way. It didn't make it to the final build but a very good concept of personifying action or adrenalin, the affect of gun physics or physical trauma on a person while balancing what you could and could not logically do while shooting a gun or engaging in combat. To say the least it is an impressive fusion of art, reality and game design, I like this):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zw8SmsovJc

Battlefield 3 Close Quarters Launch Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKsR861KGbw

Battlefield 3: Aftermath Launch Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVlnPYsmwCk

This may seem confusing to some people who dislike visual obfuscation and dynamic gun mechanics but my reason for wanting this feature has a great deal to do with the reasons of why I play video games. For me I find reason to play games because I want to be challenged on multiple levels of play not just occupied as such I want a high difficulty level that is based around learning something that is not simple or obvious, at the same time I want abstractions of reality encapsulated tastefully in a game rule or mechanic. Having guns and visuals that change dynamically throughout a game based on how the game is played would be representative of what I have described and that would most definitely keep me coming back for more.

Suppression for me not only grants me additional challenge in mastering the changes that my gun can receive but also provides me with the kind of war like atmosphere which I have come to expect from Battlefield games. I am aware that there is already a kind of suppression mechanic already present in Battlefield 2042 and while I appreciate this it does not invoke the same thoughts or values that I had experienced in previous Battlefield incarnations, it feels somewhat static to me.

That is, the stimuli I receive from games is only ever going to be based around the audio and the visual so despite the fact that I can see the explosions and bullets around me I am not going to be able to feel the change in wind around me or the force of the explosions or any vibrations of heavy vehicles going by. I need additional visuals like: blur, depth of field effects or field of view shifting and dynamic soldier handling to compensate for these absent sensations and make me feel as though I am in a war. This helps to impress upon me that I am not just playing a shooting game where I have to learn to control my gun but that I am also playing a game where I must learn to master my senses.

I admit it is difficult to explain what I want exactly in words alone and I feel this is one of those things where you have to really experience Battlefield 3 to know what I am talking about but I will try to explain in another way: if someone is shooting at me in Battlefield 2042 my mindset is similar to how I would function in any other generic first person shooter. I know to get out of the way and so I do but I don't feel as though I really have to. I don't feel challenged in any unique way that is different from any other first person shooter on the market and as such all the encounters start to merge together making them less distinctive, less memorable, less important almost as though I am playing a simple arena shooter.

With suppression the quality of my vision forces me to appreciate that I have to change tactics as this feature will give my gun different characteristics that I have to learn which helps to make each encounter feel more engaging, more interactive, more atmospheric. It's not just “can you get the mouse cursor on that guy?” it becomes much more than that. It starts to feel like a game within a game such that it commands a greater level of focus or awareness. I have to use what I remember about my surroundings; what did I see or hear my soldier do for example.

All of this is happening in a way where you're processing this in your mind on a low level. You're not saying to yourself “there is a tank over there I better be careful” rather you're seeing your field of view lurch to the left and blur with a nearby explosion which conveys to you that you must exercise caution relative to the intensity of the effect.

Of course people could say that you can somewhat do that already with what is present in Battlefield 2042 and yes you can (while there is no changing of gun parameters based on enemy fire there is camera shake, sound muting/filtering, over/under exposure and various shading effects and particle effects) but as expressed the way this information is served to the user makes the difference on how you respond to it and how you feel about it and in this game the effects to me seem to prioritise the preservation of visual clarity of the battle over atmosphere making for a different less potent action experience.

In essence this differing composition is the reason why people look at: a Dead Space game differently from an early Silent Hill game, a Street Fighter game differently from a Guilty Gear game or in this case a Battlefield 3 game differently from a Battlefield 2042 game. Each grouping of games have similar ingredients or attributes respectively but the absence of some of those attributes coupled with the way the remaining attributes are provided are generating different feelings and coercing different behaviours and responses from those who sample it.

I am not saying that what your staff have established presently in the aforementioned is bad, it is not and there are clearly people who prefer Battlefield 2042 to have crystal clear visuals and static gun handling parameters that only change on their terms. For such individuals I cannot speak for them nor am I asking for what they currently have to be taken away from them. What I am asking for is the option to enable an experience that relates to a very notable part of Battlefields identity even if such a part was only ever a small part in Battlefield history I request for that part all the same please.

Wishing you much peace and much love – Thank you in advance

*Edit - For additional videos by Locklear showing team based infantry combat in Battlefield 3 while experiencing suppression:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2zz92baV-Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZbZKpg6kJc&list=PL2AE02D2DB7507A9F&index=6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TzZSSEZF14&list=PL2AE02D2DB7507A9F&index=5

discussion

11 Replies

Anobix
Seasoned Ace
2 years ago
@Oleese Not opposed to suppression, as I think it made a difference in 3 and 4, but I don't see them adding a mechanic like that this late into 2042's life. Can only hope that they consider bringing it back for whatever comes next.
doubleome
2 years ago
Same if suppression values are set just right it really works with Battlefield
Helps tone down the effectiveness of weapons and slows down the game, something that came naturally with older titles cuz recoil was high, weapons harder to use players harder to see on range and less ammo per mag
Oleese
New Traveler
2 years ago
Though there is no guarantee I believe that it is possible for the developers to honour this request in Battlefield 2042 and I encourage you and others who want these kind of features to make your voices heard (Politely and without insult of course). Regardless of how things are we must not feel as though we cannot ask for valid things to be added, it does make a difference.
Anobix
Seasoned Ace
2 years ago
@Oleese I think the point of asking for it to be voluntary would mean that it would only end up on Portal servers as an option (if that would be possible). I can't imagine many people opting-in to a feature that makes their game harder to play against others whom don't have the same handicap.
Oleese
New Traveler
2 years ago
@Anobix Anything is possible. We have many toggleable options that could be described as a handicap. We have camera shake, field of view, brightness, mouse sensitivity, mouse read type and lots of other graphics settings that can potentially impede ones ability to play Battlefield 2042 but despite this many people enable or tweak these options to values which would be seen by some as unwise, embracing the difficulty and as such adapt and enjoy the game.
So far we are only three people advocating for suppression I believe there are far more than this whether they know it or not.
Trokey66
Seasoned Ace
2 years ago
Suppression as a mechanic should return although as an 'option' would be unlikely in my opinion.
It is a useful balancing tool and I would pitch it somewhere between BF4 and BF1 levels.
Oh, and INB4 "but suppression rewards bad aim.....!"
Oleese
New Traveler
2 years ago
In some ways it may be fine to use the games that you have mentioned but I prefer the suppression visual interpretation of Battlefield 3 over Battlefield 4 (There is a reason why Battlefield 4 metro feels different from Battlefield 3 metro despite having similar geometry).
Besides soldier stress during conflict there is something else that suppression in Battlefield 3 is supposed to represent if you or anyone else can guess correctly then you win an imaginary cookie.

Most people I have asked don't get the answer.
ragnarok013
Hero+
2 years ago
@Trokey66 wrote:

Suppression as a mechanic should return although as an 'option' would be unlikely in my opinion.

It is a useful balancing tool and I would pitch it somewhere between BF4 and BF1 levels.

Oh, and INB4 "but suppression rewards bad aim.....!"

@Trokey66 I agree the whole point of something like suppression was that it was equally applied so an option setting would likely result in people turning it off for an advantage.
ElliotLH
Hero+
2 years ago
@ragnarok013 wrote:

@Trokey66 wrote:

Suppression as a mechanic should return although as an 'option' would be unlikely in my opinion.

It is a useful balancing tool and I would pitch it somewhere between BF4 and BF1 levels.

Oh, and INB4 "but suppression rewards bad aim.....!"

@Trokey66 I agree the whole point of something like suppression was that it was equally applied so an option setting would likely result in people turning it off for an advantage.

Yep. Unless it's a BF1 Afflictions style thing, I could only see a small number of people intentionally using it. Much fairer to apply it to everyone.
sk1lld
Legend
2 years ago
If it was voluntary suppression wouldn't that just work on you and not your enemy?
Wouldn't that hamstring you pretty bad?
Confused?