The release notes for the December Update of Battlefield 1 have been released on the Battlfeild Forums by the North American Community Manager for the Battlefield franchise – user Braddock512.
The first update notes are regarding the new Spectator Mode and a new custom game setting: Standard Issue Rifles, detailed below.
Spectator Mode
With great pleasure, we would like to introduce everyone to the new Spectator mode. In Spectator, players will be able to join a live BF1 match as an observer. From there, observers can switch between first-person and third-person camera views of all the players on the battlefield through our Player View mode, get an overhead bird’s eye view of the battlefield in Table Top mode, or fly a camera through the world using Free Cam mode.
Our goal was to improve Spectator from previous versions of Battlefield. We gathered feedback from the community and focused much of our efforts on improving the usability and flow moving from player-to-player and switching between the different view modes (Table Top, Player View, and Free Cam). Another key design emphasis for us was to make Spectator a viable tool for the community to create content which includes a moveable third-person camera, depth of field, and camera filters.
New Custom Game setting – Standard Issue Rifles
A new Custom Game option has been added: Standard Issue Rifles. In SIR all kits are granted access to their faction’s standard issue rifle. For example, the British are granted the SMLE MKIII. These rifles are not equipped with optics, and are intended to provide players with gameplay inspired by the WW1 trenches. As a Custom Game option, this can be enabled or disabled with other weapon types to create a variety of experiences. SIR is not available as part of the base game experience. We feel that the ability to equip SIR in vanilla would negatively impact the combat roles of the classes. As a clear WW1 fantasy, we hope that SIR scratches an itch for our broad and diverse player base.
The next update details are regarding the Soldier, the main notes are that there have been multiple bug fixes in order to make the movement of the player much better, with higher responses and a fix to enable players to sprint from a crouching position. Also there have been fixes to the controller Aim Assist removing the ability (which appears to have been included in error) to have Aim Assist when strafing.
There have been an absolutely massive amount of changes and fixes to Battlefield 1 in the December Update, and this article would soon turn into a short novel if I were to include all of the notes, but just know that there are updates related to the following parts of the game:
Vehicles
- Vehicle Deployment
- Landship
- Air Vehicles
- Line of Sight
Weapons
- Shotguns
- LMGs
- Bayonets
Gadgets
- Mortars
- Syringe
- Ammo & Medical Crates
- Explosive Icons
Other
- Hardcore (Mode)
- Stability & Performance
- General
- Gameplay
- User Interface
- Audio
For all the information, head over to the Battlefield Forums. Battlefield 1 – Giant’s Shadow DLC is out now for pre-order and Premium Pass customers and will be a free map pack for all other players on December 20 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Are you looking forward to going over the top in Giant’s Shadow? Do you think the updates included will be a big benefit and big change? Let us know in the comments below, the RGM Forums or on Twitter. If you like what you’ve read then feel free to share this article on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pintrest or Reddit using the buttons available!
