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Hvis man skulle vælge ét ord, der definerer Battlefield-serien, ville "destruction" næppe være et dårligt bud. EA og Battlefield Studios - en sammenslutning af fire udviklere, heriblandt seriens skaber DICE - har gennem årene leveret actionfyldte skydespil, der skiller sig ud med deres avancerede ødelæggelsessystemer. Vi har set det tage mange former gennem tiden, og snart bliver det igen sat i centrum, når Battlefield 6 får sin store debut på PC, PS5 og Xbox Series X/S.
Med spillets udgivelse den 10. oktober er det naturligt at være nysgerrig efter, hvordan Battlefield Studios denne gang har hævet barren for ødelæggelse i Battlefield 6. Vi har haft mulighed for at tale med udviklerne bag spillet og høre mere om, hvordan de har videreudviklet konceptet og finpudset den klassiske opskrift.
"We reinvented destruction for BF6," fortæller DICE- og Criterion-producer Stefan Wittelsbürger. "We wanted something fresh. A return to form, that pushes limits of what our tech is capable of whilst offering a very strong experience to our players. In this game the key was to systemise and categorise ingredients of destruction from previous titles that we knew players enjoyed to form a more coherent picture. We were looking to innovate and deliver systemic awesomeness, unique to Battlefield 6."
Før Battlefield 6 var det seneste store kapitel i serien Battlefield 2042 fra 2021. Mange, der spillede det, vil sikkert undre sig over, hvordan udviklerne denne gang bygger videre på det fundament. "We set out with clear pillars for our vision of the destruction systems that we felt were crucial," forklarer Wittelsbürger, og tilføjer: "these resulted in a fantastic and cohesive player experience in Battlefield 6."
"We had good examples of destruction in previous releases of the franchise and could lean into that knowledge, but at scale. We wanted to position ourselves in just the right spot. Essentially, we focused on the mantra 'What you see in a war-torn world, you will expect to be able to do yourself.' Destruction is a tool to enrich the gameplay. We want ruins, not flattened spaces. No match should be like the one played before."
Der er gået fire år mellem Battlefield 2042 og Battlefield 6, og det har givet udviklerne tid til at finjustere deres ødelæggelsesteknologi. Men hvad foregår der egentlig bag kulisserne - hvilke små ændringer sker der på et niveau, som spillere måske ikke engang bemærker?
"We worked on a multitude of systems within our Frostbite engine to bring Destruction to life. From physics, to craters, to VFX, particles and material damage balancing," siger Wittelsbürger. "Destruction has been iterated upon in the engine in every corner of the code, but when it comes to new features and balancing, the addition of debris piles, destruction to be more on cover and traversal metrics, and the increased use of damage falloff from explosives to cause more collateral damage, help create a more war-torn result. If you know your blast distances you can control your destruction much more. I think the latter is an element that we continue to tweak, so pay attention to the patch notes, as you might find more efficient ways to take down your environment with the right loadouts!"
I et taktisk og dynamisk spil som Battlefield 6 er muligheden for at sprænge bygninger i stykker mere end blot en gimmick - det er, som Wittelsbürger udtrykker det, en "key part of your arsenal." Det giver spillerne mulighed for at "leave your footprint on the maps," men fungerer også som et redskab til at balancere spillet og bryde fjendens forsvar.
"Destruction is part of your arsenal and smart players will use it tactically. Have you found a sniper nest? Place some C4 underneath. Shoot the building with a few rockets and see the facade collapsing. Suddenly the sniper is exposed, and you have made a significant change to the space, forcing the enemy to displace. Or collapse multiple facades, creating various debris piles which can be used for infantry cover, or to ambush incoming vehicles. Craters will force ground vehicles to swerve, maybe straight into where you've placed some mines? The creative play is rewarded, so get out there and explore!"
Mere teknisk interesserede spillere vil måske være nysgerrige efter, hvordan ødelæggelse egentlig fungerer i et Battlefield-spil. Det er ikke bare et spørgsmål om at skyde en raket mod en mur og se den smuldre. De mange "structures and props have parts or states that transition from damage," og efterhånden som kampene skrider frem, forværres skaderne, indtil konstruktionerne til sidst kollapser. Wittelsbürger beskriver det som: "It's essentially a simplification of material integrity."
"We reinvented destruction for BF6. We wanted something fresh. A return to form, that pushes limits of what our tech is capable of whilst offering a very strong experience to our players."
Strukturer og objekter har dog stadig en fælles "sundhedsværdi", som bruges til at balancere våben og sprængkraft. "We can balance how much weapons and gadgets - or other environmental damage, such as collapsing facades - damage certain structures or materials," siger Wittelsbürger. Ødelæggelsen skal føles autentisk, men det er stadig et spil, og Battlefield Studios har "paid close attention to ensure we keep it grounded, but still within the video game realm."
Det er en svær balancegang, for spillerne ønsker altid mere realisme. Battlefield Studios beskriver resultatet som "movie-logic dressed in a more grounded, gritty military fantasy." Det er et designprincip, hvor "core design, content creation and level design collaborate" for at sikre, at "the end state of a space is gameplay functioning." Alt imens spillet tager højde for de mange uforudsigelige "chaos agents" - spillerne selv - som skaber de uforglemmelige Battlefield-øjeblikke.
Mulighederne for ødelæggelse i Battlefield 6 er nærmest uendelige, men hvad synes udviklerne selv er det mest tilfredsstillende at sprænge i luften - og hvordan får man den mest spektakulære effekt? "Building facades. Aim high to the top floors, see it collapse, enjoy the spectacle - and maybe get a kill or two! Also, Helicopters crashing into buildings and then creating actual ground cover for infantry. Chaos baby! Battlefield is back!"
Det lyder bestemt lovende, men Battlefield-serien har jo tidligere leveret ikoniske øjeblikke med styrtende skyskrabere og eksploderende dæmninger. Kan vi forvente noget lignende denne gang? Wittelsbürger griner: "Hah! You will have to wait and see! All I'll say is that it will be awesome!"
Heldigvis varer ventetiden ikke længe - Battlefield 6 udkommer allerede den 10. oktober på PC, PS5 og Xbox Series X/S. Det ligner endnu et eksplosivt kapitel i den legendariske skydespilsserie.