Battlefield 2042 and its new Portal is going to deliver classic, custom maps and push the rule set limits.
The release date for Battlefield 2042 is fast approaching, and today more special updates provide the scope of what is going to be coming in the game. EA is introducing the Battlefield Portal with a gameplay trailer, featuring infamous Battlefield maps from previous games like the Battle of the Bulge, Valparaiso, Caspian Border and more. The teams at Ripple Effect have essentially revamped the classic maps from Battlefield 3, Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 1942, based on the community’s comments and admiration for the game series.
The great part is that players do not need to own Battlefield 2042 to access the Portal. They only require a device that can sign in to an active EA account to start using the Portal. The main part of the Portal is the Builder. Here, users can either modify or create new maps to offer players the opportunity to make their own custom maps that also run on their own temporary servers as long as one person is online on the server. It is similar to the newer Halo games that gave its community The Forge, for players to customize the pre-built maps. Other games like GTA V and Fortnite have been popular, to have this feature as well.
The one thing the other games do not have is that 128 players can all fit into one custom server (cue mind explosion). The bad news is that only players on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S can take advantage of this ridiculous maximum player limit. The step-by-step process of creating a map is simple, and the Builder streamlines it well like any game customizer. Players first choose a game mode (i.e. Conquest, Free-For-All, etc.), they choose a base map layout, set game rules (i.e. time limit, max players and so on) and then comes the gameplay modifiers (i.e. Friendly fire, vehicle spawn, etc.).
The description of the restrictions of the Portal are a bit confusing because each Battlefield game has different factions and characters. It seems like there is a way to have a mix of characters across the different games in one custom game map, but the parameters are very specific on how to do this.
The next step involves choosing the weapons and attachments, vehicles and gadgets available to use in-game. Weapons and their attachments are interchangeable, but the developers say it is still a work in progress. Vehicle settings are straightforward, allowing vehicles from different eras to crossover. The last step is the gadget setting that can be used for interesting custom matches, like one team can only use grenades while the other team can only use rocket launchers.
If all of these settings were not enough, the Portal offers the Ruleset Editor that can allow players to get even more technical by setting the custom-made game type with certain conditions and behaviours. Very awesome for the coders out there!
All of this carnage can be controlled by the server host who created the map with administer controls like Kick Player, Ban Player, Restart Map, Take Down Server and more. This is definitely an ambitious move from the Battlefield 2042 team, and they say there is still two more special features to come as the newest game launches on November 19, 2021.
