Monday, January 15th 2024
EA Targeting Industry Leading Destruction Effects with Next Battlefield
Electronic Arts in Canada is actively recruiting for a VFX Director position at its Ripple Effect studio—the job listing implies that the ideal candidate will be set to work on the next mainline Battlefield title. EA has implemented a cross-studio development system, where multiple teams have helped to build AAA games, including their controversial plus troubled Battlefield 2042 entry—the popular online shooter series has been steered primarily by DICE in Stockholm, Sweden. Several satellite outfits assisted in producing BF 2042, including Ripple Effect (an "evolution" of DICE LA), but the multiplayer gaming community was disappointed to discover that EA's massive deployment of resources did not result in comprehensive environmental destruction within 2042's gargantuan maps.
Insider Gaming has been keeping tabs on recruitment drives at EA's miscellaneous "Battlefield 6" studios, in order to extract clues about the game's origins and progress. We know very little about the status of BF6, beyond Vince Zampella's declarations from Autumn 2023. His Los Angeles studio appears to be leading the charge; industry insiders believe that DICE Stockholm has been demoted in EA's studio hierarchy. The latest Ripple effect job advert provides a promising insight for Battlefield fans who enjoyed the "Levolution" aspect of Battlefield 4's changing environs: "We are looking for a Senior 3D Artist like you to help us create the most realistic and exciting destruction effects in the industry. You will report to our Art Line Manager, based in our studio in Los Angeles, CA. We are looking for candidates located in Vancouver with remote options." Zampella and Co. are likely having to up the ante, following the launch of "The Finals"—an Unreal 5 engine-powered shooter developed by former DICE veterans. Embark Studios have implemented some impressive destruction effects—serving as a key component of the game's mechanics.
Sources:
Insider Gaming, EA Ripple Effect Job Listing, Maxamato (image source), Kit Guru
Insider Gaming has been keeping tabs on recruitment drives at EA's miscellaneous "Battlefield 6" studios, in order to extract clues about the game's origins and progress. We know very little about the status of BF6, beyond Vince Zampella's declarations from Autumn 2023. His Los Angeles studio appears to be leading the charge; industry insiders believe that DICE Stockholm has been demoted in EA's studio hierarchy. The latest Ripple effect job advert provides a promising insight for Battlefield fans who enjoyed the "Levolution" aspect of Battlefield 4's changing environs: "We are looking for a Senior 3D Artist like you to help us create the most realistic and exciting destruction effects in the industry. You will report to our Art Line Manager, based in our studio in Los Angeles, CA. We are looking for candidates located in Vancouver with remote options." Zampella and Co. are likely having to up the ante, following the launch of "The Finals"—an Unreal 5 engine-powered shooter developed by former DICE veterans. Embark Studios have implemented some impressive destruction effects—serving as a key component of the game's mechanics.
25 Comments on EA Targeting Industry Leading Destruction Effects with Next Battlefield
store.steampowered.com/app/671860/BattleBit_Remastered/
We don’t need top graphism but something everyone can play. :)
Not that I care much about the franchise anymore since the last 2 or 3 games but im still interested to see how it turns out.
I give Zampella a lot of credence but even his medal of honor VR reboot flopped pretty hard and nobody talks about it. Didnt talk about it when it was released. Didnt talk about it after it was released. Nobody talks about it at all....because its garbage. At least he wasnt that guy who was one of the developers for candycrush that EA pushed into the chair of 'lead developer' or 'head of development' etc etc for a battlefield game. We all know how that game turned out....
Zampella has some serious chops. Dont know if they are mutton chops but he has the experience to make the next BF game potentially a winner so long as the EA executives stay away and let him work.
As for Frostbite vs. UE5, it has previously been the case that EA invested so much into Frostbite that they didn't want to just scrap it. It seemed like it could do all the things you'd want a shooter engine to do, but it had become so convoluted and messy due to staff turnover (and them trying to also make it a racing simulator engine among other things lol) and losing the people who really knew what they were doing with it that I'm curious how long they'll let their teams struggle before admitting defeat with it.
My biggest problem with this franchise as it sits today is that EA (and DICE) forgot what made it "Battlefield" to begin with. There was no clear direction or theme to 2042 and their attempt at a hero-shooter was a complete failure. Honestly, I wish they'd scrap that whole mechanic and go back to human characters (with fall damage, can't fly, slide a mile, etc.). Trying to recreate "Apex in the Battlefield genre" was a complete mistake. Let them be separate games. They used to have a really good middle-ground between mil-sim and arcade shooter where it didn't have the "realism" of squad or HLL or something, but also didn't try to be so silly that it had Fortnite vibes...just leaning enough on the realistic side to encourage people to PTFO. I actually really like that side of Battlebit, even though it does look like a minecraft shooter.
I think it needs destruction, levelution, best-in-class graphics, and the gritty real-military-guys (that may also crack situation appropriate jokes, lookin at you BC2...not whatever the hell 2042 characters were up to lol...preferably war-tapes style audio for MP though) and BF:V style movement mechanics. The movement and graphics in BF:V were it's only saving graces really. The maps and gunplay were pretty bad for the most part. Also, a huge one: DEDICATED SERVERS...bring them back.
OK OK...I'm a huge BF fan (pre-2042 anyway)...and I've rambled enough. Sorry lol
Reminds me, time to fire up the retro box I'm working on and play some BF1942 :D
then you will see the destruction effect of people leaving the game early
Bad Company 2 was the peak in destruction, after that they scaled down destruction with each new release in favour of bigger maps & more buildings. It had also the best sound engine of the whole Battlefield series, called "War Tapes". It was most likely even the best sound engine in history of FPS. It also had the best stats tracking ever, every bullet was tracked & documented. BF2042 on the other hand can't even award points correctly like in previous games, lol.
And what we're talking about here is an intent to start implementing something. So in reality this "plan" might never even begin to start happening, if they encounter problems, or if they reconsider...
EA Targeting Industry Leading Destruction Effects with Next Battlefield
No problemo !I'm ready to buy a nVidia PhysX card ... hum ... wait ...
Do you not logic?! Its a regular release, so why would every subsequent one get more effort put into it, only to be forgotten a few years later? This applies to FIFA, CoD, BF... you name it. Heck even Final Fantasy falls prey to it, with much greater time periods between releases, but its arguably less problematic there because there is just more time between them. You can't reinvent the wheel two dozen times. Its round, it'll roll, and if you make it square, it won't. Duh.
This is also why a game like Battle Bit can do all that a half dozen BF's do but much better. It condenses years of experience into a single game that just wants to be great. The design goal there is NOT to make another sequel that 'reinvents the game' where nothing can be reinvented without making it worse. The design goal is instead to just make a good game. And lo and behold... devs make a good game. Its really not hard to make a good game. We already know how it works. Good games work the way our favorite games play. We know them very well, we know what makes them tick.
There will not be another great BF, and if there will be, it will be killed before you know it by its sequel. Its time to get the memo, by now, after decades worth of shooters that really haven't changed all that much at all. I'm sure they will reboot the franchise and perhaps they might be able to get some momentary BF glory in there at some point. The real question is, how many dollars will you waste before finding it, only to lose it moments later. Just stahp and move on, honestly.
Digital games don't need to reinvent themselves. Gaming is pretty much done. Only the very odd release from time to time manages to truly reinvigorate what we already had, and some others just take all lessons learned and pile them into a single great game (like Baldurs Gate 3) that really doesn't do anything new but just has great execution of all that gaming has evolved to. Its very refreshing to realize and accept this. Suddenly it becomes very easy to filter out the nonsense from the true gems in gaming. And yes, a vast amount of games is nonsense you don't need.
I mean consider tabletop/board games. Monopoly is still monopoly. Even though they released many different versions of it... the base game still stands as it did on day one. 95% of the innovation on top of that is utter bullshit.
I strongly doubt, many people, would want to work in this garbage company. Or if some will, they might not achieve their goals, or have enough skill. Unless they hire og team, they will have no success. But I strongly doubt, any of them would return to this miserable place.
The current titles having less destruction than old ones, is the least problem of Battlefield series. They missing the elefant in the room, since there are much bigger problems, like the core of last Battlefield games are completely broken. They are no longer belong to the series.
What EA should have done, is to revamp the visuals, and add better hardware and software support to older BFs. The perfect BF recepy/concept already exist. There's no need in adding new and rubbish ideas and "components".
People don't want another battleroyale. People want old usual, "ordinary" Battlefield, with good cooperation and brilliant simplicity, but with good graphics and realistic visual effects. This has been told many times already. After that has been achieved, and the gameplay is amazing, they can think of adding destruction, and other features.
But can't say BC games were particularly bad. They were spin-offs, and I might say, even better than almost all "true" successors. The first had fun story, it's shame EA had no balls to release it on PC.
And the BC2 was surely unfinished, and clearly lacked the assets, which been pushed to other installments, such as MOH 2010, and BF3. But on the other hand, it had best sound and physics, and destruction system, among all next Battlefield games.
As for Frostbite... it was designed by DICE for DICE, and solely for Battlefield series. Not Dragon Age, NFS, Star Wars, or anything else. For BF it served great. EA already did a blast in the industry, with it's destruction of the series.
In case, If you want PhysX go get some GRAW1 and 2 PC or Joint Task Force RTS. And AFAIK you don't need separate PPU card for this.