14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at DICE might be involved with multiple other video game projects, but they still have a soft spot for Battlefield 4, announcing that they are planning to deliver an improved tickrate for the multiplayer component of the game on both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 on February 11.
On the official forums, David Sirland, a producer working on the shooter, explains that the default simulation is moving from 30hz to 45hz for all small servers, those who have 32 players at the most.
The developer explains that his team has taken into account a wide array of data before making the decision to tweak the tickrate, with a range of tests used to determine the best value for the community.
Apparently, higher values work well for most players, but DICE says that it wants to make sure that all those still playing Battlefield 4 are satisfied with the way the multiplayer is tweaked.
Sirland adds, "We are not increasing the default rate for 64 player for the same reasons. We did see issues for both players, and sometimes the server in certain circumstances in our testing – even at small tickrate increases."
For the 64-player servers, the studio has also chosen to be conservative when it comes to tickrate changes because it is not confident that all gamers will be affected positively.
On February 9 DICE plans to enable the new rate, starting at 10 AM CET, on servers in the North American East Coast server pool, with a testing period set to take place over the next two days before a full rollout take place on February 11.
The company says that it welcomes feedback about the change and that it will revert it if any problems are flagged by the community.
A new Battlefield title might arrive in the fall
The final paid downloadable content pack for the current installment in the series was launched in late 2014, and since then DICE has delivered some free updates for the shooter and has continued tweaking the core mechanics based on the feedback of the community.
Since then Visceral Games has launched the new Hardline, which moves the focus of the franchise to the conflict between criminals and the police force, with another piece of DLC set to be launched in the coming months.
Rumors are saying that a new Battlefield is being created by the team at DICE and is set to arrive at some point before the end of the year.
Apparently, the studio wants to use a more classic military theme and will offer mechanics that will attract a wider number of players.
So far no official launch windows and no platforms have been confirmed for the new Battlefield.
In the meanwhile DICE is still working on Star Wars Battlefront, which will receive monthly free updates with new content as well as paid DLC that will introduce more locations in the Outer Rim, Bespin and the Death Star, with gamers also set to get access to eight new heroes.