The Battlefield 5 Open Beta is soon to start; in just around one week, many players will get firsthand experience with the game for themselves. Ahead of the start of the beta, the game’s Multiplayer Producer, David Sirland, has posted a lengthy list of update notes about how the beta will differ from the two Closed Alpha events.
Update Notes for the Battlefield 5 Open Beta
A recent posting on the official Battlefield 5 website detailed what EA learned from the second Closed Alpha event. This new post, however, is far larger and more in-depth. Structured like patch notes, the list details every change made in Battlefield 5 for the open beta. “We hope that by digesting this document you’ll get a glimpse into how the development of Battlefield 5’s Open Beta progressed,” says Sirland; “and at the same time give context to why we chose to do the things we did.”
According to Sirland, keeping players playing Battlefield 5 is a major priority; “Battlefield 5 is built to live on as a service – the need to minimize long term fatigue and reasons to stop playing is a bigger priority than ever,” explains Sirland; “We chose to focus on this not only because it makes for a better game for all players – but because it was clear from feedback and data alike that this was a top issue, and in some cases the needs were made bigger by some the design choices we’ve made for the game.”
Four Key Goals for Improvement
The four areas which Sirland identified for improvement were; Soldier Visibility, Soldier Team Separation, World Visibility Enjoyment, and Physical Soldier Experience Quality. The first represents actual player visibility; whether players are able to see other soldiers on the battlefield. The second is the ability for players to distinguish between friend and foe. The third is DICE using elements like weather or major effects to change the visibility of the battlefield. Finally, the last heading is the most varied. Indeed, it includes mechanics which include revival, spawning, and various transitions between player states.
Sirland goes on to detail the key testing goals for the Open Beta, and a highly comprehensive list of updates and changes from what appeared in the Closed Alpha. The full update notes can be found on the Battlefield 5 forums.