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The original was posted on /r/battlefield2042 by /u/Mooselotte45 on 2023-08-07 20:29:17+00:00.

Alright, I think it is time to further discuss a big issue with 2042 - the lack of urban maps.

Each season of BF seems to focus on adding a new map, a new limited time mode, and a couple “legacy features” that Dice is finally getting around to adding.

For a potential future season, I think that Dice should:

  • Reintroduce peak, lean, and crouch sprint to our FPS controller (see BF4, BFV)
  • Reintroduce BF4 style vehicle selections for each map, trusting and allowing the level designers to tailor EXACTLY what vehicles they want us to have access to.
  • Produce a remaster of Propaganda, a BF4 map that represents a solid urban map with infantry play and limited vehicles.

Peak, lean, and crouch sprint

Recent BF games have historically done a reasonable job at catering to players that prefer movement mechanics, and also to players that prefer “cover to cover” styles of play. On the movement side of the equation we currently have untold options - we have slides, grapples, steerable parachutes, slide + double hop, etc. As a “cover to cover” style player I really dislike some of these, as they feel super arcadey (but I digress). To help rebalance things a bit, I think some effort should go to giving options back to “cover to cover” players. Peaking around corners, leaning (with inertia to prevent spam) and even simple things like crouch sprinting allow for more options for people that prefer a slower pace of play.

And what better place to reintroduce this than an infantry focused urban map.

Propaganda

Honestly, I don’t wanna go over all the reasons why this map was a solid creation. There are content creators (I seemingly cannot name or the filter catches it) that have made great videos on this topic. Other benefits of going to Pyongyang?

  • It is finally a map option set in a recognizable real world location
  • Related to the above, it is a national capital that Dice/ EA don’t need to be worried about impacting their sales. I cannot imagine North Korea is a major market for them
  • Within lore, it could be very interesting to see what the fuck happened in NK during the past 20 years. Did the people overthrow the government? Is the dark market propping up one side in exchange for slave labour? Is the place a literal ghosttown? Did they nuke their own capital in a civil war? Did RU back one side in exchange for something? What the fuck is going on?

One thing that is absolutely key to maps like Propaganda is the balance between infantry and vehicles. BF4’s version gave each team 2 MBTs, vehicles that could be potent in the right hands, but not oppressive. The cover, flanking routes, and pathing made infantry fighting tanks a viable option. But to achieve that balance, we need to drastically limit the vehicles players can choose, and do so by implementing a BF4 style vehicle selection system.

Reworked Vehicle Selection

Since BF1, Dice has skewed their vehicle selections into categories in the name of player choice. This is a solid ideal, “giving the player more freedom” but it has numerous downsides.

  • If all vehicles are allowed on all maps, they lose their identity a bit. All maps start to feel samey because they have to be tailored for all these different vehicles. So many maps in BF’s successful history worked because the vehicle types were limited and focused. See Seine Crossing, Grand Bazaar, *Propaganda*
  • Vehicle categories introduce far too much variability in min:max possibilities. The devs have stated this themselves in a podcast. So many of the categories don’t make sense, or end up in wild edge cases that need quick balancing. Take the railgun tank - maybe it works in a specific map, but could be removed for others. Maybe some maps don’t get any helis, while others get 2 attack choppers each (but no little birds, hinds, or stealth helis)

Getting greedy now

Alright, if we have done all that lets go one further. One map per season just isn’t enough. Related to vehicle selection above, by only making one map they really need it to sort of work for all players. The best way around this? Introduce more maps please for the love of god. Maybe tie it in narratively and have 3 maps set in North Korea. One is in a forest/ farm region and has tons of tanks and armor. Maybe another is a small town and has all vehicles and infantry. Then the last is the Propaganda rework that favours infantry and has maybe 2 MBTs a side.