So, the beta of update 1.50 is out. The point of having a beta is of course to get feedback from all you players out there. And as the level designer of Operation Blue Pearl I of course am interested in how the map plays. I don’t know if you read my earlier statements on the map design, but one of my main concerns was (as proven now) the crucial map start. It’s really hard to do a perfectly balanced beach landing that should almost, but never be, impossible to pull off. Especially without testing it a lot – and that’s what the beta is for… I knew I would get feedback on this and the earliest reports showed that some of you felt it was too hard.

So, to get the ball rolling on this and get passed negative, non-constructive comments, from the top of my head -  here are my ideas on how to resolve the issue and what I see these changes will bring to the table. Please discuss them, come up with other ideas how to make the beach landing work:

- The temple flag belongs to US at beginning (We miss out on the beach landing part of the flag)

- Remove the first control at the temple (PLA would have to constantly “refill” the front to hold it, giving the US a really good chance at landing. On the other hand, if US don’t succeed in capping the flag at the Old town square they’re going to have to restart at the home base again)

- Start the temple flag as neutral (PLA would have to race and capture it and if they manage to it’s going to be tougher for the US to push them back. In this case the US will have one “window of opportunity” on taking the flag. This could result in an interesting experience and urgency for the US to cap it on the first try. On the other hand, it they don’t succeed where at where the map is right now.)

- Add some ships in the center of the canal close enough to allow for US snipers to take out Chinese soldiers at the temple and to provide cover for the ribs and APC:s moving across. Placement should allow for US but disallow for Chinese sniping. This could be used in combination with the first three ideas.

As I’ve explained in an earlier post, the Fog-of-war is an inheritance for the game still having to support the minimum rig way back from 2005. The map, being set where it is in a city, can’t allow for a greater view distance.

To leave your own feedback head over to the Battlefield 2 Forums - http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-2/544569-operation-blue-pearl-feedback.html