14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at Visceral Games working on the new Battlefield Hardline is not happy with the rumor that some community members have spread that the game started life as a simple expansion for Battlefield 4 and explains why the new title needed to be a standalone release.
Thad Sesser, a lead multiplayer designer, is quoted by VG247 as admitting that much of the tech used by the new experience, including the Frostbite 3 engine, is the same, but insists that user feedback has already been used to improve the core mechanics of the series.
He explains, “In terms of the UI, we still want it to be recognizably Battlefield, but we’ve got some changes, we’re listening to user feedback, we’re always soliciting comments and feedback from the players, so if you’ve got specific comments, you got specific feedback, let us know.”
The focus on the fight between criminal cartels with access to high powered weapons and law enforcement agencies who are responding by using military centric hardware also means that Hardline uses a new vehicle physics system and evolves the interactions between characters.
An expansion for Battlefield 4 would not have been able to pack as many new weapons, gadgets and new modes, according to the developer.
He adds, “I think you’ll understand where the value proposition is with this game. There is a lot of new content. It’s not just a re-skin or a re-use of assets. We’ve got all new assets, we got a lot of stuff still coming in, so look forward, check us out in the future, play it, tell us what you think.”
Battlefield Hardline will be offered on October 28 of this year on the PlayStation 4 from Sony, the PC, the Xbox One and current-gen consoles.
Visceral Games, the previous creator of the Dead Space series, says that it is aiming to offer an interesting single-player story, with emphasis on characters, and a multiplayer that aims to offer more dynamic matches.
Until then, fans of the series will be able to enjoy two more downloadable content packs for Battlefield 4, the first of which is called Dragon’s Teeth.
Each of them will include four new maps, each with their own Levolution mechanics, and more weapons for gamers to wield.
DICE has also said that its shooter will be supported in the long term with more balance patches based on the feedback coming from the community.