This isn't just a neglected technical detail. Ballistics has always been the DNA of the Battlefield franchise. It guides the player to treat physics as part of their mental arsenal.
A tradition preserved, even in the controversial Battlefield 2042🤔.
Despite all of 2042’s flaws, the mechanics of bullet drop and compensation still remained. No one dared remove that core, no matter how wrong the rest of the game was.
That alone shows that, even amid the structural disaster of that title, there was an instinctive understanding that ballistics is still the soul of Battlefield.
Now we see in the BF6 beta bullets that travel in straight lines. Replacing the rich dynamic of projectile physics with a simplified recoil system, a mere "point and apologize" mechanic, is a massive betrayal.
If the goal was to create a generic shooter, one that abandons its identity to mimic other market successes, then congratulations. Mission accomplished. If the aim was to build a CoD, a Fortnite, a CS, then change the name. Give it a title that reflects its new nature. Because what’s being made here, a game that trades projectile physics for simple aim suppression, is not Battlefield.
The most ironic and tragic part of all this? The work was already done. The foundations of ballistics that made Battlefield legendary exist in the source code, tested and proven by a loyal player base. If the devs can’t innovate on such a solid legacy, the least they could do is honor it with a simple Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V,instead of dismantling it with a vision that betrays everything this franchise ever stood for.
Let’s just hope this isn’t permanent. Because if it is, then we’d better pray this new team isn’t nearly as hopeless as the crew behind the last Battlefield. Honestly, it’s hard to imagine anyone managing to mess things up worse than what we saw with Battlefield 2042.
That said, you raised a good point. Even in that disaster, they still didn’t touch core mechanics like bullet drop and ballistics. As clumsy and rushed as the implementation was, at least they had the bare minimum sense not to mess with something so fundamental to the identity of the series.
Of all the points I’ve brought up, ballistics (and every variable tied to it) have been here since BF2. If there’s one system that should be absolutely untouchable, it’s this. Changing that would be crossing a line the community won’t forget or forgive.
Excellent analogy.
FYI - The UI is terrible on the PS as well
