v1.14 Feedback/Suggestions
Hello there. Just had some feedback on some gameplay aspects after playing the latest patch. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this. 🙂
1.) Minigun characteristics:
- I understand this is an object of balancing, but I can't shake the feeling that the long spin-up period before firing miniguns makes them simply too frustrating and deleterious to use. To my knowledge, real-world minigun/gatling-type systems either do not require such spin-up, or are capable of firing as the system spins up to speed. Coupled with the speed and extent to which they become inaccurate, the wind-up seems an excessive and unrealistic, but most importantly, unsatisfying compromise.
This is because, especially with the little bird and the light transport, often times you have a short window to put effective fire on a given target, and instead you must sit and wait for the spin-up time, after which your rounds bloom and flower so much from the reticle that you have to try hit it in bursts.
Given the rate at which they become inaccurate once firing, I find that allowing them to fire from a complete stop would be fairly balanced. A realistic penalty for this would be a necessary 'spin-down' time after firing before you can re-fire the weapon, just as in reality. See: https://youtu.be/rIlwHT4IdRc?t=751
The ability to unleash this at a trigger pull was extremely satisfying: https://puu.sh/JaZJo.mp4
2.) Weapon attachment state on HUD:
- This is a simple quality of life suggestion; to give a HUD element that shows the current state of the firearm attachment. This is because it can be especially difficult in bright light conditions, to see if your flashlight or laser light is on, and because some large weapons make it difficult to see whether or not a bipod is deployed.
A classic example: https://puu.sh/JaZJH.mp4
3.) Context-based order giving toggle option:
- This is a simple QoL request that prior games in the series had. Personally I've never liked having the spot key share the objective selection key, because there was always a chance you'd mix them up in a fight.
Here's what it tended to look like: https://puu.sh/JaZJK.png
And here was a showcase of when it's a problem. Here I tried to select the objective but ended up spotting someone due to terrain geometry. https://puu.sh/JaZKk.mp4
4.) Decouple vehicle aim from movement:
- Another QoL option that was present in previous titles, this option is really an absolute necessity for keeping a steady sight picture and hitting targets whilst in a vehicle that's turning or moving very much at all. I also notice that even with AI, when I'm flying or driving a vehicle and turning, I visibly throw off their aim while they shoot, thus they can only really be effective when I'm static. This must be added as a toggle, please!
5.) Gunner aiming angles for all vehicles:
- This is a very necessary feature for arguably all vehicles with gunner or turret seats, but especially attack helicopters, whose only considerable sustained firepower comes from their gunner. Vehicle synergy is based upon the pilot's ability to keep all of its weapons effectively facing targets, and this is currently impossible without constantly popping in and out of third person, which is reducing efficacy, (and enjoyment).
Classic examples: 
And there are of course many ways to skin this cat. Battlefield 2042 had an interesting system for ground vehicles which used a radius and various manner of arrow to indicate gunner angle, as well as the front of the vehicle: https://puu.sh/JaZI8.mp4
6.) Removing gun convergence:
- This is a strange request, because whilst gun convergence is entirely realistic, the very low default convergence range, (~<300m) makes using wing-mounted weapons frustrating. This is especially true of the stealth helicopters' heavy machine guns. They converge far too soon, and with so terribly little weapon spread as it is, they frankly make hitting anything smaller than a bus a major pain. I sincerely and strongly suggest removing realistic gun convergence, instead using a more typical form where the rounds converge toward the center of the screen and then fly straight toward the reticle, (falling with gravity of course), seeing as it cannot be altered to a different range, and adding a reasonably increased native spread to the HMGs, so that they can be used to create a beaten zone or to attack smaller vehicles/infantry and even faster-moving aircraft without having to hit at the absolute perfect convergence range.
This is terribly unsatisfying, and the weapons would at this rate be better with zero convergence, seeing as hitting targets smaller than the span between the guns is nearly impossible as it is: https://puu.sh/JaZHY.mp4
7.) Separate Freelook sensitivity options:
- Currently, something bizarre is going on with my freelook options. I have exactly one freelook slider that I'm aware of that can be altered. Currently, my ground vehicle freelook speed is too slow, whilst my aircraft freelook speed is too fast, and my down state camera speed is extremely fast.
Somehow these things are connected and they should not be. I cannot find a balance that works for each of these, as they are connected, and changing one alters the other, and the difference between them is too great. This is an issue that plagued recent titles, as in BFV, I found it practical and beneficial to have a higher tank rotation speed but wanted a slightly lower vehicle transport freelook, but alas, they were not only the same value, but they scaled unevenly.
Please, if at all possible, look into possibly adding separate values for the down state camera, ground vehicles, and air vehicles.
8.) Freelook center dot:
- Speaking of freelook, a simple addition of a small dot in the center of your screen, for all unarmed vehicle positions and freelook mode cameras, would be fantastic so that you can use it to spot locations/enemies!
9.) Ammo resupply call-in:
- With the lack of resupply stations at objectives, and the promise of more ammunition for gadgets wholly reliant on choosing the one character who can call in the supply crate or team-mates kind enough to drop the gadget ammo crate, there needs to be a system to resupply player gadget ammunition. Specifically AT/AA weapons, if you create an AT/AA class, they are out of luck once they're out of rockets because you are 100% reliant on allies to resupply you. While this is great when it works, it's frustrating when it doesn't.
Also, it is entirely possible in solo/co-op to run out of rockets and be doomed to never have them resupplied, because the AI infrequently drop ammo crates, and do not respond to commo-rose requests.
- My suggestion is that every player is able to call in a drop of a single consumable ammo pack that fully replenishes all ammunition but runs on a cooldown specific to that player for that match which is not insignificant in time. Maybe 3-5 minutes.
10.) Aircraft third person horizon indicator:
- A simple addition which I think would make flying easier, especially with helicopters, is a subtle artificial horizon indicator for aircraft whilst in the third person.
11.) Aircraft HUD rework:
- For this particular suggestion, I know I'm actually not alone in this already, but I feel that the HUDs for some vehicles are too cluttered and too busy with designs that distract and do not provide meaningful information. I think it would be better if things were a little clearer, and more emphasis was put on the artificial horizon for orientation.
As an example, please compare these HUDs: https://puu.sh/JaZIX.mp4 versus https://puu.sh/JaZJM.jpg
- Here is a suggested lighter HUD just as an example or proof of concept. Note the emphasis on the horizon and less clutter: https://puu.sh/Jb0VY.png
12.) Gun/Rocket velocity calculation, aka, CCIP (Constantly Calculated Impact Point):
- This is a fundamental aspect of modern aircraft for launching all manner of unguided munitions which is was present in battlefield 4, but is currently lacking in 2042. This is the indicators that show where guns, cannons, and especially, rockets, will head toward, with respect to the aircraft's current heading and velocity in 3D space. This isn't in the current build, and as a result, you have to do a lot of guesswork in a pinch.
13.) Flight assist mode(?):
- This does not seem to work at all, currently. I would suggest that it should auto-stabilize helicopters as a form of auto-pilot and maintain a fairly solid hover, but I'm not sure if that's already what it's intention is.
14.) Faction selection on Solo/Co-op/Portal maps:
- With the need for strict balancing of players falling away in PvE/co-op or AI-filled matches, being able to select your faction would be fantastic. I am perfectly okay with not hearing any match-start voice over either. Embrace the sandbox!
15.) MAV freelook as driver:
- While most unarmed vehicle driver seats allow you to look around freely, the MAV restricts you, which is strange considering the abundance of cameras and probably proliferation of armored viewports such a vehicle would have in 2042. If there are less viewports to increase coverage and depth of thickness of armor, better panoramic cameras at least ought to be available for the driver, I say!
