Can't start a (truly) private server
Over the weekend I looked into how I could set up a private server so that I can have a place for just myself and a few friends to practice, explore and learn maps, test loadouts, fine tune infantry and vehicle controls, etc. My first attempt failed because the server required a minimum player count. I figured this could be solved by allowing bots on the server, which would be problematic and not ideal, but at least a workable solution since bots are stupid. The silver lining being that at least I'd have moving targets to practice on when I'm on the server with no friends.
After setting the server to allow bots, I tried again. The server began to backfill empty player slots with bots, but hung around 16 or 18 players if I recall correctly (that number could be off signifiantly as I didn't take note of specifically how many bots the server had filled in), and failed to launch. I even gave it about 5 minutes to finish filling player slots with bots, but it made no movement at all after it hung.
A live gameplay environment is counterproductive to practicing controls, helicopter and jet controls in particular. It's impossible to practice flying when you're being shot down every 5 seconds. The only practice I can realistically get is up and down on the left stick for helicopters to dodge lock-ons. It's even worse with jets. I can't practice aiming worth a darn with either of them because the controls are so sensitive, even with sensitivity turned all the way down. Whenever I try to adjust my aim, I always end up over adjusting. The stress of being locked on and shot at constantly just makes it worse.
I might be able to fine tune my controls a bit, or at least get used to the sensitivity, if I could practice without being shot at constantly. The map constraints are also a problem. The edges of the maps seem to be much closer in than they were in BF3 and BF2047 (the two BF titles that I have the most experience with), making it much more challenging to stay within the map without being auto-killed. If I had a controlled environment to practice in, I could get used to these constraints much more easily.
It would also just be nice to have a controlled environement to practice with friends so that we aren't constantly being disrupted by the chaos of live gameplay. Something that I really miss from older FPS titles (not just Battlefield) is the ability to easily load a game on an empty map and just explore. It allowed me to familiarize myself with the maps, practice getting used to my controls, play around with friends, and even have friendly scrimmages against each other allowing us to learn good tactical positions on the map, good lines of sight for mid- to long-range engagements, and how to use different map elements for cover or concealment.
As it stands, the only way I realistically have to practice anything at all is in a live server with other players. Players who are trying to gain levels, complete challenges, unlock weapons, gear, and attachments, or just simply enjoy the game. Things that they'll have a difficult time doing when they get stuck with players like me on their team, not contributing to the match at all and wasting vehicles that they could be using effectively.
Practicing in live game servers and ruining the gameplay experience for other players is not a viable solution. The closest thing to a viable solution we have is to just not play game modes that have vehicles, but infantry controls still require practice. If aim asist is never going to be fixed (it needs to be fixed because it's absolute trash right now...), then the only solution is to get better at aiming. I'm all about improving aiming so that aim asist isn't needed, but the firing range where the player only has one weapon, no gadgets, and 5 stationary targets to shoot at leaves much to be desired. It's good for testing how different attachments effect a weapon's recoil pattern and ADS speed, but that's about it. Ffs, we can't even practice transitioning to our pistol when our primary's magazine runs dry. Sure, you can just reload because the firing range gives you infinite ammo, but you don't always have time to wait for a reload in a live game. Sometimes you need to make a quick transition to your pistol, which we can't practice on the firing range.
We need a way to launch private, isolated environments conducive to solo practice and practice with friends. The ability to do this would improve player skill, leading to matches being populated with more competent players and improving match quality overall, as opposed to basically playing Battle Duty 6. Please consider allowing us to launch private servers with no minimum player requirement (or a minimum player requirement of 1) and a choice of having bots or no bots.
