Battlefield 4 NEW FEATURES CONFIRMED

Release Date: 10/29/2013
Rumored (leaked?) Beta date: 09/29/2013

Media

• Official Trailers
  • Battlefield 4: Official “Siege of Shanghai” Multiplayer Trailer
  • Battlefield 4 — E3 Multiplayer Gameplay — Best Moments
  • Battlefield 4: Official Commander Mode Trailer
  • Battlefield 4: Official “Angry Sea” Single Player Gameplay Video
  • Battlefield 4: Official 17 Minutes “Fishing in Baku” Gameplay Reveal
• Gameplay Footage
  • E3 LevelCap Weapon and Squad Perks (Direct Feed)
  • E3 LevelCap Weapon Classes and Suppression (Direct Feed)
  • E3 Machinima Gameplay Demo
  • E3 Sniper Gameplay
  • E3 Livestream Day 2 Part 1
  • E3 Livestream Day 2 Part 2
• Official Gallery

Expansion Packs

• China Rising: free with preorder
• Second Assault: includes 4 maps from BF3

Features

• 64 players, 60 fps confirmed for XB1 and PS4 (1080p has been mentioned, but is yet to be confirmed); expect 30 FPS, 24 players, kinda-HD for X360 and PS3 – Commo Rose
• Confirmed game modes: Squad Deathmatch, Conquest, Rush, and Team Deathmatch (at least 2 new game modes will come, but some from BF3 will be dropped; implied 7-10 game modes total)
• Hardcore mode
  • Ammo is magazine-based, not “pool”-based
• In-game VOIP
• No Mod Support: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/06/13/battlefield-4-mod-support-ruled-out-by-dice-2/
• No Battle Recorder; can rely on built in XB1 and PS4 recorders
• Practice mode/tutorial mode for vehicles
• Better Battlelog integration for consoles
• USMC, Russia, and China factions

Maps

• Siege at Shanghai (featured in E3 Pre-Alpha)
• “Levolution”
  • Every map will have changes that can alter the makeup of the map/level. For example, in Siege in Shanghai, after the skyscraper falls, a small peninsula of rubble can be traversed and dust/debris in the air decreases visibility in the area. The base that was once on top of the building is now on the ground. Anyone on top of the building as it collapses dies automatically currently
  • So far, not scripted–can take out supports to bring down skyscraper
  • Urban areas can’t be flattened by destruction; design choice, not engine limitation
• Improved environments
  • Metal detectors can expose you, storefront gates can be shut to cut people off, fire extinguishers create smoke screens, bollards can prevent vehicle access
  • Water reacts dynamically to vehicles and events (skyscraper falling)

 

Commander Mode

• One player on each side that does not occupy a player slot (64 players + 2 commanders)
• Can be played from console, PC, or remotely with a tablet (“Mobile Commander” mode) – PC Commander mode has more info than using the Tablet it was mentioned, but is very similar.
• In some game modes, bases can reward commanders with new features. For example, capturing (  C  ) base will give your commander a Tomahawk Missile. If your team captures ( B ), your commander could receive UAV support. Confirmed Commander Abilities: UAV / Tomahawk / Artillery / Vehicle Drop / AC-130 Gunship (Commander can deploy gunship, but Players have to then spawn in to use it like BF3) / EMP UAV / Supply Drop – and More
• Set attack orders for individual squads; squad leaders can confirm that they are accepting the commander’s orders
• Included in Conquest and Rush so far
• Commander persistence/skill tree
• Commanders are not chosen based on rank – you need to queue into the server as commander and wait. If your team has a commander that is not helping, your team can ‘mutiny vote’ and remove the commander
• If squads follow your orders, everyone receives bonus points

Spectator Mode

• Confirmed for PC, “we’ll see” for console
• Views: Table Top, First Person, Third Person, Free Cam
• Can “set” up to five free cams around the map to quickly jump to certain location
• UI can be turned off
• Can click on player from table top view and get PiP view of their screen

Game Mechanics

• Squad assists can count as kills if you contibuted the most to the kill (maybe >90%?)
• Reduced suppression: Support now contributes the most to suppression and it has a greater effect at long range
• ADS near cover allows a “peak” cover system. Not sure if you can lean left/right, but seems you can pop up above cover
• “Click to spawn” deployment options; you can click on a spawn point or squad member to spawn
• Interface is muuuch less click-heavy vs BF3
• No in-game Kill feed (your kills are displayed in center of screen briefly) or Killcam, but this is subject to change (pre-alpha)
• Movement system has been tweaked for momentum; it takes a moment to get to full sprint speed
• Directional callouts–the default “enemy spotted” voice seems to indicate directions/location relative to your position
• Hand gestures indicate commands, including spotting; multiple enemies can be spotted at a time
• Ladder climbing is faster
• Proprietary matchmaking system instead of system matchmaking
• Skill system, in addition to matchmaking; can set skill reqs for servers
• “Partial mod” support; likely to be server-side modifications (vehicle count, damage mods, player count???)
• In-game HUD shows hotkeys for different gadgets/attachments at bottom/middle of the screen
• When spawning, you’ll see live feed gameplay of wherever you choose to spawn. (squad member, vehicle, capture point, etc.)
• Bullet tracers and smoke trails are more prominent; grenades have smoke trails
• Knife attacks can be countered by pressing button when prompted (small window)

Sea Combat

• Can dive to avoid gunfire
• Can shoot pistols under/above water while swimming (shooting underwater is very inaccurate)
• Can sprint swim
• Sea combat: Jetskis, boats, and “ships” confirmed.
  • Exiting an attack boat launches you directly into a jetski from the back of the boat

Vehicles

• Enhanced vehicle disabling: Vehicles are disabled based on the parts that are hit; however, tires can’t be shot out (it’s not that granular)
• Vehicle customization/specialization is more robust than BF3 – Paint / Camo for Helicopters and Armor
• Air – Helicopters have Night Vision
• Land
  • Limited MBT 120mm ammo, which can regenerate
• Sea
  • Can be outfitted with anti-air and anti-armor rockets

Classes, Weapons, and Equipment

• All classes
  • Excellent gallery of loadout screens
  • Faction-specific weapons are back
  • All classes have access to their primary weapon class, carbines, designated marksman rifles, and shotguns
  • Pistols can be customized
  • Grenades: HE, flashbang, and incendiary
  • Tons of attachments/customizations (green hipfire laser sights, different foregrips, barrel types, bipods, silencer/flashlight combo)
  • Over 1200 items that can be unlocked via 300 “Battlepacks”, which can be earned or bought
  • Attachment system
    • Optics: various sights
    • Barrel: muzzle brake, etc.
    • Accessory: canted iron sights, laser pointer (same as BF3), green laser pointer (possibly stealthier, only shows up to enemy if directly in their eyes)
    • Underbarrel: angled grip (lower initial recoil), vertical grip (same as BF3)
• Assault
  • Primary: assault rifles
  • Medic Bag: deployable health
  • First Aid Pack: You toss this onto someone. It regenerates their health, regardless of their proximity to you. If you toss onto ground, it can be picked up by someone else
  • Defibs need to be charged before you can pick someone up; seems they still need to be unlocked Actually, they were not in the Alpha due to a bug found at the last minute
• Recon
  • Primary: sniper rifles
  • C4; can be thrown again, and can attach to boats
  • Motion sensor ball (it also seems there is TUGS, but haven’t seen it in-game; we have seen the sensor ball in-game, however)
  • Range finder and scope zeroing
  • Ability to use different zoom levels in one scope
  • SOFLAM is handheld
• Support
  • Primary: LMGs
  • Ammo bag: deployable ammo
  • Ammo pack: ammo that can individually be given to someone
  • Support has 25MM support grenade launcher, grenades explode midflight. Aim at target, then lift sights and fire and grenade explodes above target
• Engineer
  • Primary: PDWs
  • Engineer can carry AT Mine and Repair torch at same time
  • RPG, Stinger, MBT-LAW – RPG can lock onto SOFLAM Targets

Squads

• Field Upgrades
  • Team actions/XP build up your squad “field upgrades” meter
  • You get to pick your upgrade “path”; you share XP, but pick your own field upgrades–there are no more squad specializations
  • Two field upgrade paths: Offensive and Defensive (more field upgrades may be added down the line) Example – Ammo / Grenades / Boost
  • Squad wipe takes you down one level; there are four levels of field upgrades
• 5 players per squad
• Default is squad-spawn on anyone; squad leader-only spawning is server setting

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=589056