Battalion 1944 feels somewhat quaint after the release of Battlefield 1, doesn’t it? It was supposed to be this big return to old school, multiplayer WWII shooters, then DICE makes an old school multiplayer game of their own, but set in WWI.
Developer Bulkhead Interactive have released a new update for Battalion 1944 that goes into detail about their process of map design, as well as some character customization options.
One of the big things the update touches on is level design. In the update, the team take us through one of their big decisions. “During the mapping process we have made the decision not to name the maps after real world locations. We feel this adds too many creative barriers that can affect gameplay, which is obviously something we are trying to avoid.”
It makes sense; tying yourself to creating a 100% realistic map of a certain battlefield would be too restrictive. However, Bulkhead say they are still going to be as realistic as they feel they can be, and are still aiming for an authentic experience.
The Pathfinders
An unlockable character design was also shown. It was suggested by a backer that there should be a character model based on the Pathfinders who shaved their heads into a mohawk and put on face paint, reminiscent of that of Native American war paint. It seems almost timely that this would happen a day after the Cleveland Indians and their racist Native American mascot lost the baseball World Series.
This isn’t some random thing though. A group of American Pathfinders in both the 82nd and 101st Airborne units really did dress up this way before they jumped on D-Day. I believe it was more to psyche themselves up than to intimidate the enemy, as it would have been too dark to see their faces (they jumped at night) and they would have been wearing helmets. It wasn’t common, but the disproportionate number of photographs taken of the men that did don this look makes it look more common than it was.
The Pathfinders with Mohawks and face paint. This is the referenced photo used by Bulkhead Interactive.
Other than that, there’s not much to the update. They mention there’s a high chance of the game being ported to the Xbox One, but it’s nothing concrete yet. Battalion 1944 raised £317,281 (about $400,000) in March 2016. It’s scheduled for release in May 2017.
to bad sony is trying to push fail psvr and wont get this game.i cant wait for it on xbox.
[…] will focus primarily on matchmaking and competitive aspects of gameplay. Once the majority of the game’s base features are deemed complete, Battalion 1944 will spend a few months as Steam Early Access title before an […]