BF:1 - My "Pre- Alpha" gameplay analysis

Graphic-J

Registered User
Joined
Aug 2, 2014
Messages
268
Hey everyone. Just thought that I'd share this. So this is what I think of the "Pre-Alpha" gameplay. But Seriously... before I start... this is hardly Pre-Alpha. More like Beta by a stretch as it looks like a stable build. If it were Pre-Alpha you'd see tons of placeholder images all over the place, bad or no textures and broken gameplay. Anyhoo...

PROS:
- As always the sound and game graphics are top notch
- various Weather effects are random making each round pretty much unique
- Vehicle 'enter' animation has finally come to BF. (Unfortunately no EXIT animations as of yet) which is arguably more important as people teleport out of tanks and shoot you or pop out of their planes too quick before killing them. Vehicle seat switch animation is also on some vehicles.
- You can actually steer the Zeppelin. Possibly the Battleship and Train as well. No more rails.
- Destruction and ground deformity is better than ever. Buildings have furniture.
- Vehicles seem balanced and flak damage is seriously good.
- Awesome Zeppelin takedown, destroys whatever it touches. not scripted levolution!
- 3 class tanks (light, mid and Heavy) Anti-tank grenades are very powerful to balance them out.
- Bayonet sprinting with stamina bar: http://imgur.com/AQcNvDV
- You can finally climb up walls: http://i.imgur.com/rQbJfFf.gifv
- Brutal melee system
- Head shots are also brutal: http://imgur.com/V329zxr
- BF1 map and OP.Firestorm2014 map size comparison: http://i.imgur.com/qlGL0VT.png measured via the distance between one flag to the next flag which is 150m. Compared to the map 150m in OP:Firestorm.

CONS:
- That announcer woman, seriously WTF. She sound like she came out of Overwatch or some futuristic game. Completely unfitting. Hopefully just a placeholder for now.
- The very obstrusive UI with huge enemy spot-doritos. Also shows the enemy class.
- LMGs and SMGs everywhere. Hardly any action rifles used. Maybe a Alpha-show thing?
- You can repair tanks by pressing "X" but inside the vehicle. Not sure I like that.
- Seems like vehicles have no more health regeneration but infantry does. The two should go hand in hand.
- The hated spawn in air system is back. No base, carrier to take off or land to repair. Time will tell if other maps are not like this.
- The Stamina mechanic is still not present in which would add a bit more depth/strategy to infantry gameplay.

NEUTRAL:
- In game UI Font too modern looking. Looks like a mix of Battlefront and Hardline.
- Players running on crack and twitch shooting. Game seems a bit faster than BF4 but less than Hardline's TTK. I'm both excited about what I saw and kinda wish it was a bit more realistic. I know it's "not Verdun" or a milsim but surely there can be a middle ground.
- small damage weapons can damage planes. Same as it was in Hardline and Battlefront
- Battlefield 1 uses the British army (1914-1918) phonetic alphabet for objectives i.e. Base A = "Objective Apples" http://www.royalsignals.org.uk/articles/alpha.htm


New or updated BF1 info:
- France DLC has been announced but not confirmed by DICE.
- Squads of 5 confirmed: http://i.imgur.com/fjQRbiL.jpg
- New concept art possible shows that BF1 is going to have Gallipoli : http://i.imgur.com/PuwJhB6.jpg
-----------------------------

44 minutes of gameplay: (Hi-Res recording on YT)

Probably the best BF1 pilot gameplay video I've seen:
----------

So what did you think of the "Pre-Alpha" gameplay?
 
Thanks for your analysis Graphic-j. I'll keep in mind when I buy it. I especially like that you kan sprint to bayonet. It Looks fun! I Kant wait to destroy chuuurles in bi-planes. :)
 
I have found a lot of people lack the situational awareness to see a blinking objective and spawn on it or head to it to defend. In DICE's dedication to lower the bar for noobs to be able to enjoy the game (rather than force them to get better) they put the announcer woman. She could sound better and it does remind me of Overwatch but Overwatch is meant to be silly....this is war damnit.

They were playing in a LAN, the open beta will tell us how the game handles with people in other time zones shooting at us. I haven't heard anything about the engine, it just said "Frostbite" in the intros I've seen. I'm just wondering how subpar of a tick rate it was coded for relative to CounterStrike. PInche consoles and their data rate limits imposed by Sony and Microsoft.
 
I like vehicle with no health regeneration brings back the classic battlefield

Thanks for sharing your thoughts
 
Don't get me wrong you guys, I still like the game. it looks like a fun Battlefield game but as of now, I dunno it doesn't look like a very good WW1 themed game. I don't want something like Verdun or a milsim but there should be a middle-ground somewhere in there no?

To EA's credit, it's pretty surprising that DICE went all the way to WW1 but it is still attached to some silly modern FPS mechanics. Can you imagine BF42 with Frostbite graphics tho'? Time will tell.... I just hope they work out the silly kinks that I described or at least some of them. Other than that the planes are the best thing in the game. Seriously can't wait for Churrles in charge to bring me down every...frickin...time.

lol

@Mex: Yeah I see the screen UI just cluttered up. Especially with the new, oversized Dorito. It's like they are trying to compete with The Division. ;)
 
I think its going to be a fun BF game. It looks like they didn't stray to far from the bread and butter of a BF game. I am still curious to the melee system, I saw a gameplay by Jackfrags on youtube that showed him hitting a person with a hatchet, he was kinda face to face with the guy so I don't know but there was no crap animation.

The only thing I disagree with you on is the woman voice over. I think it is really fitting for the time the game takes place. Women did a lot of communication operations in WWI and WWII.
 
Squad isn't on the same scale as BF1. It's also a different era, with much different mechanics. Sure it's an FPS, but not in the same mindset.
 
I'll watch it when I'm home. Sounds like some like it abd others not so much.
 
I haven't even seen he gameplay trailer. I'll comment when I see it, for whatever it adds.
 
Back
Top