Despite being praised for its multiplayer when Battlefield 4 launched, it wasn’t long before numerous cracks began to show. Server issues began to rear their head in the first few weeks, and would continue to grow worse for some time. What could have been a very enjoyable game was marred by technical issues and BF4 was another one of the many released-way-too-early victims of Electronic Arts.
Matters were made worse when amidst needed game updates - all while BF4 DLC was still being sold - EA announced Battlefield Hardline, the final straw for many fans who had been let down by Battlefield 4. It seemed that the industry standard of annual releases dictated that there had to be a new installment, even if it was clear that the previous iteration was barely functional.
High-profile calls to boycott Hardline meant that something had to be done. An announcement was made that the game would be delayed until 2015, to make sure that the same mistakes that blighted the launch of Battlefield 4 wouldn’t be made again. However, there was still more to be done to appease disappointed fans of the series.
Back in May, developers DICE announced the ‘Community Test Environment’ — a closed program that would be used to collect feedback from players while various tweaks and fixes were tested out. Today, we’re seeing the fruit of that labor; a patch that is intended to make the game playable as intended, a month short of one year from its initial launch.
With amendments made to everything from movement animations to weapon properties to the set-up of individual game types, this is a last-ditch attempt to make Battlefield 4 something that delivers upon its promise. However, as demonstrated by these quotes from a thread on the game’s official forum demonstrate, reaction is already mixed:
