Can old maps like Gulf of Oman or Grand Bazaar even make a comeback without failing to meet the high expectations of fans?
A new Battlefield always reignites a familiar discussion in the fan community: Will old maps from previous games return in a refreshed form?
For nostalgic reasons alone, many Battlefield veterans would be delighted if they could once again run across legendary maps such as Gulf of Oman, Attack on Karkand, or Wake Island in Battlefield 6.
The problem: According to Battlefield developer DICE, many fans have rose-colored glasses
on when it comes to old maps. This makes working on a remaster incredibly difficult.
Now we have two questions for you, our community:
- Can you confirm the existence of these rose-colored glasses from your own experience?
- Which remasters of old maps would you like to see for Battlefield 6?
Player expectations and technical hurdles
Shashank Uchil, Design Director at DICE, comments in an interview with the website PCGamesN:
You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is. Because of [the players’] expectations. People know the map and have certain expectations. But there’s also a rose-tinted view, along the lines of: That’s how it used to be.
But even aside from nostalgia, according to Uchil, there are other factors that make remastering old Battlefield maps so difficult—first and foremost, the new destruction technology in Battlefield 6:
How do we make [the remastered maps] as destructible as all the other maps in the pack?
How do we ensure that the maps work with the new weapons, which are different from those in [previous installments]? It’s much more complicated than you might think.
How do we make [the remastered maps] as destructible as all the other maps in the pack? How do we ensure that the maps work with the new weapons, which are different from those in [previous installments]? It’s much more complicated than you might think.
Now it’s time for your opinion. Feel free to write in the comments section whether you can confirm the rose-colored glasses phenomenon from your own experience or not.
The following poll is about which remasters of old maps you would like to see in Battlefield 6. Feel free to vote, we’re excited to hear your thoughts!
Finally, back to the topic of rose-colored glasses: Jeremy Chubb, producer at DICE, describes dealing with fan expectations as a balancing act, because fans have very specific ideas about what the remastered versions of the maps should look like.
At the same time, users would also be disappointed if DICE were unable to integrate the new features and ideas from Battlefield 6 into the reissued maps.