Battlefield 2142 scans of PC Gamer cover story leaked
The Battlefield 2142 hoopla is
starting to look more and more real as scans of the PC Gamer issue in question have surfaced online with BF
2142 featured as the magazine's May cover story.Digg contributor Iced_Eagle has pointed us to an 8.5MB archive of images from the mag, with 9 pages concerned with 2142 and 2 pages having to do with Half-Life 2: Episode 1. If you're interested in knowing "where your unstoppable 20-foot Mech is," then you'd best get to that reading online or off ASAP.
For those still skeptical of any gaming news outlet coming out with such a story in the general vicinity of April Fools' Day, keep in mind that the game appears to not only be the magazine's cover story, but that its coverage also fills up all those pages of print mentioned earlier. EGM merely dedicated a single page with a brief line in the table of contents to its Apple iGame prank this year, so this would seem like a lot of effort on PC Gamer or some extremely dedicated Photoshopper's part to fool the gaming public. Will this fall prove to be the point when the BF franchise finally frags in the future? At this point, it would certainly seem so. Read on for further details about the game; the cover pic links to the scans.
DICE Sweden holds the reins for this futuristic installment of the Battlefield series, where walking Mechs are described as being "packed to the gills with anti-personnel, anti-tank, and anti-air weaponry." Support-class robots will also serve as spotters and extra firepower for Engineers in the planned 2006 release.
War will take place over who gets the best of what's left after a new ice age. While most of the fighting will take place in northern Africa (as only a quarter of the Earth's surface is still livable under these dire circumstances, mostly centered around the equator), it's certainly possible that Far East countries might join in the fun in future expansions. The two factions involved are "the American-European Alliance, made up of the American continents and most of Europe," and the "Pan Asian Coalition, a combination of Russia, the Middle East, and India."
According to PC Gamer, work began on BF 2142 right after Battlefield 2 was completed, but the idea for the new installment "originated about two years ago." DICE has already gotten to the pre-alpha stage with 2142 thanks to its reuse of and revisions to the BF 2 game engine. As far as changes to the gameplay are concerned, Star Wars-style lasers are out, but new weapons (including various ballistic firearms), vehicles (like those two-man Mechs and some sort of fighter jets), and maps are definitely in the offing. Infantry get upgrades as well thanks to "new RPG elements in the class system" (to develop the two sub-categories of each of the game's four available classes), some Star Trek-style cloaking for recon units (where you can't attack when under wraps), and the ability of Squad Leaders to place map beacons for team respawns (so they can join in the fight, too).
A buddy list is now part of the main menu interface, which has been rebuilt to aid players in online matchmaking. Also joining this game this century year will be a new game mode, "new Commander features," and "the ability to play co-op with your friends against an AI team." Check out the pages of PC Gamer yourself for further details, or wait till E3 when much more will be revealed.
[Thanks, Iced_Eagle]
See also:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
scoot @ Mar 21st 2006 4:44AM
"DICE has already gotten to the pre-alpha stage with 2142 thanks to its reuse of and revisions to the BF 2 game engine"
uggghh Sounds like BF Vietnamn all over again...
Goobers @ Mar 21st 2006 4:45AM
unless the poster edited the scan... its more likely to be true... even if it comes out in the "vincity" of April Fools Day... it's a MAY issue, not April issue. wouldn't a prank be on an April issue? even if the issue comes out a month and a half before the date... at least, that's my take on it.
besides that... i HOPE it's true!
any chance any of use can see these scans?... hum... when is it supposed to hit the stands?
Dan Choi @ Mar 21st 2006 4:54AM
"any chance any of use can see these scans?... hum... when is it supposed to hit the stands?"
Don't know about the newsstand date, Goobers, but the scans can be found by clicking on the PC Gamer cover image all the way up top or by following the "Read" link at the bottom.
Dan Choi @ Mar 21st 2006 4:59AM
"uggghh Sounds like BF Vietnamn all over again..."
The funny thing, scoot, is that PC Gamer makes the BF Vietnam comparison themselves in describing the technology behind the game. Check out this quote from the feature concerning the various Battlefield games and how they relate to one another:
"How is [DICE] cranking out another game so soon? BF 2142 is to BF 2 as Battlefield Vietnam is to BF 1942 (take note: this analogy will be on the SATs) -- the game is being built on the same core technology that powers Battlefield 2, but is being taken to a whole new setting with completely new weapons, vehicles, and maps, plus various physics and visual enhancements."
The words speak for themselves. ;) But yeah... check out the full article for yourself to make sure you're reading everything in context.
rico @ Mar 21st 2006 5:22AM
NO ONE BUY THIS GAME HAVE U SEEN HOW MUCH FLAWS BF2 HAS. EA CANT MAKE A GOOD GAME.
EA SUCKS ITS NOT IN GAME ITS UP THERE A##
Goobers @ Mar 21st 2006 5:25AM
hehe.. oops... i forgot to check for links. danke!
seems "scoot" just didn't like what BF:V was to BF1942.
i never played BF:V (or BF1942 for that matter), so i don't really know the comparison... but from what i can see in the trailer... i don't really see anything that bothers me... well, maybe the fact that there aren't any MadCat MKIIs or Lokis... -.-'
i suppose i just have to reserve any more judgment until more official details are released and it actually comes out.
metaly @ Mar 21st 2006 5:56AM
Maybe this explains why BF2 was plagued with server browser issues and other bugs for so long.
"Hey DICE, when's the new patch going to be done?"
"Who has time to write patches when there are mechs to build??"
Nico @ Mar 21st 2006 6:16AM
I enjoyed BF 1942, BF: vietnam and BF2 so im deffinetly gonna get this iteration of their game.
Im hoping they improve on commander options and the movable spawn point.
Daniel @ Mar 21st 2006 6:25AM
Looks good better come to 360...
Armin @ Mar 21st 2006 6:37AM
Battlefield 2 was released as a BETA this summer, 3-4 patches and it's still the buggiest game around.
Can you imagine BF2142 or whatever...?
EA just doesn't get it...
Alex K. @ Mar 21st 2006 7:02AM
ummm...hello...by 2142, war is eliminated thanks to first contact 80 years earlier.
duhh! any trekkie would know that!
Manboy no. 5 @ Mar 21st 2006 7:06AM
BF2 1.21 is actually pretty stable. The server browser is clunky, and I can finish a Mario Kart DS race in the time it takes to load a map, but there isn't anything showstopping or even terribly annoying anymore; basically the game is in a state with an acceptably short cash register to fun period. I guess it takes a lot of effort to change a mantra though.
dlk @ Mar 21st 2006 7:40AM
I have no idea what yall are talking about, I find no problems with BF2. I mean its has bugs just like any other game and yes they do patch it often, thats because there are A#$ Clowns out there that will do anything to get an upper hand and cheat so EA has to patch. Everytime they have patched the game it actually has increased the game play. Being able to shoot down UAV's was a cool addition. If you are complaining about the load times, hell get a new computer!
Josh @ Mar 21st 2006 8:12AM
Very nice, Goobers, throwing in that MechWarrior reference! I loved those games...
Mannlicher @ Mar 21st 2006 8:41AM
I've had immense problems with BF2, and from what I've read on messageboards lots of others have experienced exactly the same. Had to hack around to get the patches to install, serious graphic glictches have been introduced in two different patches (1.12 and 1.21). And no, this is NOT like any other game. Regardless of patches, 1.0 to 1.21, I've never experienced a game where the servers have crashed as often as in BF2, it has more bugs than any other FPS game I've played, and the patches have introduced more bugs than in any other game I've played. The "can't hear enemy fire", revive/head sound hang and "AT/TVG missile goes through armor" bugs are STILL THERE IN 1.21!
Therefore, I'm not going to bother with BF2142 until well after it is released and I've read a lot of comments on how bug-free it is.
After 1.21 I've turned to Red Orchestra -- www.redorchestragame.com, which I find to have much better gameplay. Most likely, if I feel like playing a futuristic combat game this autumn I'll be playing Quake Wars, which will also be a online-oriented FPS, but made by someone I respect a lot more than EA as a game developer:
http://www.quakewars.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_Territory:_Quake_Wars
FireWaia @ Mar 21st 2006 8:45AM
And some trailers perhaps?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-DnK-d_sp0
http://gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=2501
PeteL @ Mar 21st 2006 9:17AM
I loved BF1942, but it is just too much work to get BF2 to run and I have a decent PC. I guess I am getting spoiled by the consoles - I just am not up to spending hours troubleshooting problems to make this game run. After 10 or so tries and uninstalling and reinstalling the game I still couldn't get the last patch to fully install. I gave up and just sold the game. At least I can still play BF1942 and the Desert Combat Mod. And I'll give BF2 a look on the 360.
D dogg @ Mar 21st 2006 9:36AM
Running off the BF2 engine should mean that BF2142 is at LEAST as bug free as the current BF2. At least you can take solice in that?!
Or you can play HL2 or Doom 3 again. :)
Kevin @ Mar 21st 2006 9:38AM
Another battlefield? How about some sort of creative project guys?
How many times can you remake a first person shooter?
Oh! It's in the future now!
Whats next Battlefield Influensa: Telescopic Assult?
Tesla @ Mar 21st 2006 9:48AM
Dan,
When Battlefield2 was finished 2 years ago? If I'm not mistaken, BF2 came out last summer, ie not even 1 year ago. I for one am not very enthusiastic about the setup of 2142 and am definitely not interested since BF2 is not even a year old. I guess this is why they haven't been able to get a good enough interface and fix all the huge bugs in BF2. Don't get me wrong I love BF2, but it definitely needs some work still.
Fan @ Mar 21st 2006 10:05AM
@17 Kevin
Well they did innovate alot from the BF1 series to the BF2 series. I would especially point out the commander feature and squads. Great additions.
Its not just another FPS. Its a gigant game of CTF with RTS features.
PiratePete @ Mar 21st 2006 10:29AM
I've never had an install problems or major glitches with BF2 (I guess 2 Gigs of RAM helps out a lot). Sure it's crashed out a couple of times, the server browser list may not be the fastest but they have been improving it.
Also most of those patches that come out for it are to counter the jerks out there that try to exploit and hack there way through the game ruining it for everyone. BF2 is great and considering all the things that you can do and is happening all around you at the same time in the game, I'm surprised that it works as well as it does.
BF 2142 looks great. I'm glad they didn't go with lasers. (Too typical) I will be picking this up when it comes out.
K MAN @ Mar 21st 2006 11:07AM
Battlefield 2 at 1.21 is stable. and it doesn't take that much time to load. It takes about 14 seconds to load a map, and into the game. but when the game loads, i'm usually the first one on the map, so I get a choice of rides before anyone.
and graphics... man, superb. at 1600x1200 at 4x AA, it's like a dream running SLI.
however, I do have one complaint about BF2. no force feedback support for the joystick. but this is very minor
AMD FX 57 OC
4gb OC, two 74gb raptors in RAID, two 7800GTX 512mb SLI
Creative X-Fi, ASUS MOBO
Leto @ Mar 21st 2006 11:43AM
These scans are so fake. Also, Battlefield 2 was released in June 2005, so it hasn't even been out for a year. Fake, fake
PiratePete @ Mar 21st 2006 12:24PM
"NASTY!" rig K MAN.
K MAN @ Mar 21st 2006 2:30PM
THank you Pirate Pete. but I do need to upgrade the CPU to FX-60. I'll get this done next week.
it's all nice looking too. sitting in an ASUS Vento 3600 case.
but FEAR still brings my system to its knees, when running full AA at 1600x1200. and VISTA says that it is a "3" rated system out of "5"
I don't know.
A2000 @ Mar 21st 2006 5:38PM
Um, I'd say BF 2142 has officially been confirmed by DICE:
http://www.ea.com/official/battlefield/battlefield2/us/editorial.jsp?src=communityupdate_032106
Dan Choi @ Mar 21st 2006 7:21PM
^^ Great find there, A2000!
As for the release date of BF 2, Tesla and Leto, I unfortunately misread the PC Gamer article. What the original text stated was that the idea for 2142 "originated about two years ago," though DICE Sweden still "started work on BF 2142 immediately after BF 2 shipped." Sorry if that led anyone astray! I'll fix that line in the post right away. On a side note, Battlefield Vietnam was actually released almost exactly two years ago, but it's not what we're talking about here, so... yeah. Thanks, guys! =)
Dan Choi @ Mar 21st 2006 9:19PM
Just in case you haven't seen the "official" confirmation yet, here it is:
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/21/battlefield-2142-officially-confirmed/
Thanks, A2000!
Ed. @ Mar 25th 2006 7:09AM
IT"S BASICALLY TIBERIUM SUN, but with ice , NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
stop being stupid traitiors, EA i know u copied that orcha bomber form westwood.
Even the original cover of tiberian dawn has been copied. >:(, anyways, EA is basically a big dictatorship.