Less Destructible Environments in Battlefield 3? DICE Explains

Destruction has become a huge part of the Battlefield franchise. It was first introduced in Battlefield: Bad Company and has since then, become a staple part of the franchise. In an interview with IGN, Karl-Magnus Troedsson, General Manager at DICE, revealed that destruction was not originally intended to be a main part of the series. “When we threw in destruction, with having more dynamic environments in there, it actually worked out pretty well by itself.” He continued, “the destruction didn’t really rupture the whole Battlefield system. It actually was just a nice-add on…

Many fans would agree that it was a very welcome addition in Battlefield: Bad Company 1, which was later improved in Bad Company 2. However, it has introduced other un-anticipated problems along with it as well. For instance, “there were some maps that actually, after a while, if you played very long in the same area, you’d just grind down everything to the bottom, which made it really hard sometimes for, like, the defenders in a rush map,” said Troedsson himself. “When we see these things, [we think] okay, we have to add some covers that actually are not destructible.

In recent trailers and interviews, it’s been revealed that there won’t be as many completely destructible buildings like there were in Bad Company 2, however, destruction will still play a large role. Though you possibly may not be able to drop buildings on enemy’s heads in BF3, you will still be able to kill them with falling debris from destroyed walls or structures. Alan Kertz, senior gameplay designer at DICE, shed some more light on this subject when asked whether the player who caused the debris gets credit for the kill or not. He simply replied, “credit is given where credit is due.

If you played the multiplayer in the 2010 reboot of Medal of Honor, you will notice that DICE did not include any destruction at all. So far, we’ve seen a few things from MoH carry over into Battlefield 3 and now, perhaps, we will see less destructible environments as well.

Do you think this will better serve the gameplay? Let us know in the comment section below.

Be sure to check out some more information on Battlefield 3’s new voice chat system, and some more gameplay changes regarding stationary heavy machine guns.

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Update: DICE Clarifies Destruction in Battlefield 3

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RandomBoner
RandomBoner
12 years ago

Intresting, though i’ve read that there is still buildings that are fully collapsable, though not quite as many as BC2. Although, i do agree that all out destruction can be a hindrince at the end of a tough conquest match or as he said, as a defender in rush because of the lack of suitable cover

Eric
Eric
12 years ago

this really stinks . You can bring down walls and stuff but gone are the fully destructable environments. THIS IS A BIG LET DOWN TO ME>

I used to love when i was in a building that was about to collaspe and i only had seconds to get out of it. IM gonna miss that.

Jon
Jon
12 years ago

Destructible environments made the game what it was. Period. Someone duck into a house? I made the front of that house gone. I need to get to the other side of that wall and dont have the time to move around? I made a hole.

If you played a 1000 tick game, and by the end every building was rubble, and death awaited you in every corner of that rubble? That was actually pretty fun. Being able to fully destroy the maps brought levels upon levels of awesomeness to the game, because it made each game you played different. Without it you are stuck in a pre ordained boring map, that you can only manipulate and do so much with. May as well play a COD match at that point.

I can see why large 30 story buildings cant be brought down, there is just too much detail to handle and the technology can’t do it just yet with the debris. I get that. However, we had still better be able to take out the same types of buildings we were able to do in BC2, or else this game will have lost a LOT of enjoyment in my humble opinion.

Sitting in a house watching the walls get blown away around you while you are pinned makes the game awesome. Don’t take that element away.

Andy
Andy
12 years ago

Exactly what Jon said, because destruction does make the game fun and realistic. If your in a building, that would be awesome to try to get out of the building before it collapses. Just gives it an awesome adrenaline feeling. Because you not only need to worry about getting killed but also be worried about getting crushed, which is pretty intense, fun, and keeps the game going. Because like Jon said in his comment, ” because it made each game you played different”.

Dratyan
Dratyan
12 years ago

I’m canceling my pre-order on Origin at this very moment. If this information is somehow not entirely true, I’ll gladly buy it again. CoD’s static maps are bad enough.

cancel
cancel
Reply to  Dratyan
12 years ago

dude shut da fuk up ,what do you go around blowing every building down with c4 and make it hard for your team mates to defend .good we dont need retards like you on bf3

Shadow
Shadow
12 years ago

Ok guys i think some are over reacting. Only certain parts of the map wont be completely destructible, which makes sense for game play balancing.

Having a EVERYTHING destructible would ruin the game. DICE aren’t saying a lot of objects aren’t destructible.

perpetuity
perpetuity
12 years ago

I disagree with @shadow and agree heartily with @Andy …

It adds a level of randomness and “realism” that other games do not have.

Taking massive destruction away, in my view, takes away innovation in the video game industry (like it was stated, who want’s predefined mazes over and over? rats!), and, takes away playability and tactics. I can’t see how anyone believes destruction would ruin the game.

Without destruction you face a rat maze where people find the best trick spots. For me a more interesting game would include random destruction and random spawn points (not excluding squad based spawning).

Finally, if it were me, I’d add what Ghost Recon had a decade ago — more realistic bodily damage models where your soldier, if hit, would have trouble aiming, walking or running, and might eventually bleed out. This introduces a huge change over the rose stained glasses you don in current shooters.

Peter
Peter
12 years ago

Yeah, destructible buildings did make the game what it was! But thats BC2, this is BF3, a sequel to BF2, which had no destruction of buildings. In my opinion it’s good

Amuro Ray
Amuro Ray
12 years ago

I do not approve of this.

You could use the rubble from the collapsed buildings as cover, or could make it so that explosives made varying sized craters, which could also be used as cover.
Or make MCOM buildings, and only MCOM Buildings, unable to be razes.

YOU CAN BALANCE OUT ONE PROBLEM WITHOUT WATERING DOWN THE ENTIRE THING.

rmx687
rmx687
12 years ago

Clearly there are posters here claiming to have played Bad Company 2 when they have not… very few buildings were fully destructible. Basically if it wasn’t a four-wall rectangular prism you knew it couldn’t be taken down. Even then, many such buildings, such as those with steel girders, were impossible to take down anyway. It was only 1 or 2 templates that could be brought down and it became very easy to tell which ones you couldn’t take down.

The interviewee probably means there are less buildings of that template placed in the game. I trust DICE, as arguably the premier FPS developer, to know the right balance. Personally, I wish BC2 had more, because it really made the battle evolve in the longer-ticket matches.

DarthDiggler
DarthDiggler
Reply to  rmx687
12 years ago

“Clearly there are posters here claiming to have played Bad Company 2 when they have not… very few buildings were fully destructible.”

In terms of Multiplayer you had far more destructible buildings then you did not. I have been playing BFBC2 since it came out and still play it. Most of your “Single Family Home” size buildings could come down with 5 C4s.

Dirk
Dirk
12 years ago

Destructible environments only work when it enhances game play. If the environment is sufficiently level and no one can move because they will be killed the moment they do so then how is that fun?

Wolfthatwonders
Wolfthatwonders
12 years ago

Destruction of the enviroment is the ONLY reason to Play Battlefield. Period. it does not matter how pretty the game is, with out destruction which Should be the center point of series. If you dont have it the only thing left is tanks and jets that can shoot at buildings that never fall? With out destruction you might as well get ride of Tanks and jets! Then you Might as well play COD then!

Andrew
Andrew
Reply to  Wolfthatwonders
12 years ago

What the fuck are you talking about? Battlefield 2 never had destructibility. This isn’t Bad Company 3, deal with it.

Wolfthatwonders
Wolfthatwonders
Reply to  Andrew
12 years ago

Im dealing with it just fine thank you Andrew for your concern. Since you have trouble reading I will explain myself further. Dont feel stupid or anything because many people dont know how to read… Its ok just sit there and dont improve your self. All I was saying is the fact if you have a jet and it shoots “Thy Missle” In the Said Building and it does not level it to the ground, Its kinda lame and unrealistic, Destruction is key to any warefare.

dakan45
dakan45
12 years ago

did you thought even for a second that you will be able to demolish big and complicated buildings inside a city? ofcourse not, bf3 destruction is selective, you will be able to destroy them to a certain degree, not more.

ZeroOnyx
ZeroOnyx
12 years ago

HA!HA!

bfsucksyall
bfsucksyall
12 years ago

hahahahahhahahahahahaha. fuck battlefield .. go COD MW3

Moshpitti
Moshpitti
12 years ago

I find it somewhat ridiculous how people don’t seem to understand half of what they’re saying, what seems to be the one thing uniting people in the comments who want the whole maps turn into parking lots.

Some even say they’re taking away destructible walls? The BUILDINGS won’t come down, they didn’t say the walls were made of solid steel. It’s pretty obvious the only ones truly concerned would be the ones who have only played BC2 and possibly 1943, back in BC1 walls would come down but buildings didn’t, and it was a blast without making maps boring and dull end of the match when there’s nothing in it. Before that? Back then it was like CoD, for you people who consider playing two shooters at the same year impossible.

Just wait for the game to come out if you can’t read, and you’ll see.

ProFlight
ProFlight
12 years ago

Battlefield 3 will still be the greatest FPS game yet when it releases. Only because some of the cover will be indestructible doesn’t mean the game will bomb. In EA DICE’s professional opinion, this is how it should be done.
In EA DICE we trust.

DarthDiggler
DarthDiggler
12 years ago

I think you guys are reading things into this. I don’t read that DICE actually said that BF3 would be “Less Destructible”.

You could essentially add more non-destructible items to a map full of a bunch of destructible items and still have the same amount of destruction.

BFBC2 had a liberal placing of the big square concrete blocks that would never go away. It sounds like they are just going to be making a few structures non-destructible for balance purposes and not a lack of technology.

Can you guys write 1 article with out over sensationalizing the topic matter? I mean considering the amount of hours people have put into the Alpha this news being extrapolated from DICE comments, doesn’t really sound like it holds much water. Just seems like you guys took a square block and shoved it into a round hold and said YEP — thems the facts!

Fahed Jaradat
Reply to  DarthDiggler
12 years ago

DarthDiggler, you’re one of our regulars, so I really don’t get why you wrote “Can you guys write 1 article with out over sensationalizing the topic matter?” ’cause we have plenty of straight forward titles.

I’m going to ask Veselka to reply directly to your comment so that we can put this behind us, but we really appreciate your feedback positive or negative.

Cheers,

Madness
Madness
12 years ago

If you destroy everything, then you get flat land. On flat land, vehicles dominate infantry. Destructibility is a good feature, but balance/fun is more important than realism

DarthDiggler
DarthDiggler
12 years ago

Ok well maybe I jumped the gun a bit, you guys have been doing an incredible job of staying on top of the BF3 news and it doesn’t seem like you a bunch of COD fan drones.

I appreciate a little chuckle from my name. It’s Boogie Nights and Star Wars what’s not to like? 🙂

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