Battlefield 1943 announced

[Buliwyf Profile]

http://www.battlefield1943.com/

[Mugzy Profile]

Looks cool! Only 24 players Thats what made 1942 so fun was having 64 players.

[Chacal Profile Website]

Not bad, but... no ships!

[willy lump lump Profile]

the 64 players is why i still play bf2.

[Chin_Sack Profile YIM]

Damn, where are my ships? my subs? My bad ass battleships?

[Buliwyf Profile]

http://pc.ign.com/articles/952/952301p1.html




NYCC 09: Battlefield 1943 Hands-On
Wake Island, we have missed you.
by Steve Butts

February 6, 2009 - It's hard to believe that it's been seven years since the release of the original Battlefield 1942, but that's exactly how long it's been since PC gamers were first rapturously enthralled by DICE's online action game. And though we've seen many sequels since then, this is the first time the team is returning to the World War II setting that launched the series. We had the chance to play through the latest build of Battlefield 1943 at Comic Con today and are now even more excited to see how the final game shapes up.

The designers are sticking close to the original Battlefield 1942 model, even reusing the islands of Wake, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal as the game's three levels. But this time around the levels are being rendered using DICE's new Frostbite engine, which allows for much more detail and destruction in the levels. Watching as a tank blasts through the walls of a bombed out shack as infantry cower in the tall grass nearby really brings the intensity of the combat home in a way that wasn't possible in the original game.


NYCC Footage - Watch or download the video here (HD available).

For the unfortunate gamers who never played the original PC version, Battlefield 1943 is an online action game where players start as either US Marines or Imperial Japanese soldiers who are competing for control of a number of flags spread across an island. Players can take command of a variety of vehicles including jeeps, tanks and airplanes in order to gain an advantage over their enemies. Whichever side controls a majority of victory flags slowly tilts the match in their favor. If they can hold on to most of the flags long enough, they'll win the match.

Though that's basically the same as the original Battlefield, there are some other new features in store for the sequel. First, there's a new bomber shack on the islands that can be used to call in a bomber formation to attack the island. When you enter the bomb shack, your view will transition to an inbound squadron of three bombers. The player can steer them left or right as they move over the island, and then switch to a bomb sight view to drop the payload. Then the player exits the bomb structure, which has to recharge before it can be used again. The bombers can be attacked by enemy fighters, which gives pilots more to do than strafe and bomb the infantry and vehicles on the island.

There are a few concessions to the design that DICE has made to make the game more accessible to a wider audience. First, each weapon has unlimited ammo. You'll still need to reload, but you won't have to resupply while in the middle of the game. Second, and more significant, players' health will now slowly regenerate during combat. This change will definitely decrease respawns and might actually encourage retreats from battle. It also means there's no more need for the medic class, so it's been cut.

The new engine makes Wake more attractive than ever.
The classes of machine gunner, engineer and tank-buster have been combined into a single class, the infantryman. This guy comes complete with a sub machinegun, a bazooka, and a wrench that can be used either to bash enemies at close range or repair vehicles in the field. The new rifleman class works a bit better at long range and comes equipped with a semi-automatic rifle and rifle-grenades. For real long range action, players will still need to rely on the scout and his sniper rifle. The scout also now has the old engineer's TNT, so he can also serve in a tank-busting role.

Except for the small landing craft that cart players from the carriers to the shore, controllable naval ships have been eliminated. Now the enemy capital ships will simply serve as permanent, non-destroyable spawn points for players and vehicles. This means that players won't be able to force a defeat by capturing all the spawn points and killing all the remaining enemy players.

Capture points are a little tighter this time around, which focuses the combat a little more than in the original PC version. Now you'll really have to get close to the flags in order to capture them and that will bring you out into the open a bit more. To help ease players into the action, there's a new frontline system that automatically spawns players at whichever friendly base happens to be closest to the action. Of course, if you'd rather spawn at a different base in order to grab a certain vehicle or sneak up on another enemy position, you can still opt to spawn wherever you want to.

Player limits are capped at 12 on 12 for all matches because those are the numbers that the Frostbite engine handles best. The numbers might get bumped up on the PC, but that's not a sure thing. The team says there's no possibility of cross-platform play owing to the balance issues created by different input devices.

Right now there's no plan to include other battles in the game but, given the number of amazing levels in the original game and the producer's obvious excitement when we pressed them about Tobruk, Kursk and Market Garden, we're sure that the possibility exists for future content releases down the road.

Battlefield 1943 is due out this Summer and is likely to carry a price similar to other premium content on Live or the PS Store. It will share a single price shared across all three versions.

[Buliwyf Profile]

video walkthrough

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/45234.html

[[ecgn] btt Profile]

A few things about that video. The map looks really small. I guess that is not a bad thing for 12v12. I like that you can melee with the wrench. Unlimited ammo is another interesting thing.

[SavageParrot Profile]

lol so that's why battlefield heroes got delayed. They decided to slap better graphics on and call it BF43.

[Porsche_997 Profile]

I wasn't impressed with 2142 and this looks like more recycled stuff. Definitely be passing this one..

[residue Profile]

lol so that's why battlefield heroes got delayed. They decided to slap better graphics on and call it BF43.

ding ding ding! we have a winner!

recycling old titles is an easy way to develop new products during a recession. it's a shame that all of the bf1942 sequels/expansion packs have been gameplay duds. unlimited ammo, auto health, combined classes, bomber shack and token ships? could this have been dumbed down further?

[CreepingCharlie Profile]

could this have been dumbed down further?

Your underestimating EA.

I'm not really liking this at all. Maybe its me but I'm not all particularly fond of their Frostbite engine. Its something about it that it looks fake, idk. It has too much of a console feel to it.

[Chacal Profile Website]

That last part is probably intended. The money is in console games and their audience.

[cavalierlwt Profile]

Looks like they're abandoning us for the console crowd. It seems so simple to me, I just don't understand their reasoning. Just update the graphics engine, add some new maps along with our favorites, tweak the netcode a bit, add some new equipment... and we'd be throwing our money at these guys. BF1942 nailed it, yet they keep dragging us kicking and screaming away from it. Stick with the concept and utilize today's ever increasing computer horsepower to make the experience better . BF2 was ok, but they managed to fracture that community by rushing out BF2142. I wish EA/Dice would have just sold the BF1942 franchise to some up and coming software company that could just dedicate themselves to it.

[MMmmGood]

Yea i'm not too thrilled about this either. They are taking a lot of the concepts of BF1942 and removing them completely or dumbing them down to appease the "casual gamer" who doesn't have time to learn proper tactics or gameplay.

I applaud them for wanting to go back to their roots and re-do the best game of the series with a new engine, but killer #1 for me is 24 players max.