14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at DICE has just announced that Battlefield 4 is at the moment offered as a free-to-play title on the PC via the Origin service, and the studio is also saying that it is continuing to work with the community to put together a new major update for the shooter, which will be launched in September.
In an official blog post, the developers explain that they are working with the fans in the Community Test Environment in order to gather relevant feedback and make sure that all changes will improve the overall experience.
DICE states, "The current CTE initiative revolves around making the core gameplay of Battlefield 4 even better. This initiative has been in full swing for a little over two months now, and we’ve made a lot tweaks and changes that we hope you have enjoyed."
The game modes which are being improved include: Rush, Obliteration, Obliteration Competitive, Capture the Flag and Carrier Assault.
The studio says that optic reticules for both close and medium ranges no longer move with the gun, although bullet spread and drop are still active, in order to give players better chances to hit enemies.
When it comes to movement, DICE is promising a model that is closer to that of Battlefield 3, allowing players to move away from bad situations and with a smaller impact of the bullets on head movement.
DICE adds, "Focusing on clarity, and de-cluttering the HUD/UI to only show what is important – we have added several options and functionality to make your screen much less cluttered (and give you a lot of choice in making it the way you want)."
The revive mechanics have also been improved, with a new fully charged sound for the paddle, user interface indications and better use of ragdolls.
The netcode for Battlefield 4 has also received some enhancements, which should result in a more fluid experience for all those who are playing the shooter.
The development team continues to also work on the weapons balance for the experience, and their focus has been on suppression, which has been re-tuned and made clearer.
The new Community Test Environment initiative is focused on teamplay and game elements like Commanders, Squads, Field Upgrades, and Game Mode improvements.
At the moment, DICE does not want to give players a clear launch date for the next major update for Battlefield 4, which will deliver all the improvements listed above.