EA and DICE's latest entry to the Battlefield series, Battlefield 4, will be a milestone for the series. Not only will the game be the first in the franchise to come to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but it also hopes to join the growing eSports movement. On the official Battlefield blog DICE revealed that Spectator mode will be essential to this move, along with offering a unique way to experience Battlefield 4's multiplayer.
DICE explains that spectators for matches will not count towards the overall player count for matchmaking, meaning matches on next-gen consoles as well as PC's could very well have 64 players, two players using Commander Mode and four spectators. Spectators will have four different viewpoints to take in the action: first-person, third-person, tabletop and freecam view. DICE explains tabletop mode as "...visually similar to the Commander Mode screen, and here you will have a UI with icons for the starting points, players, vehicles, and so on. From this position, you can then select anything that has a camera - players and all the vehicles - and you see their actions in a smaller picture-in-picture screen. Using Tabletop View and its smaller screen gives you a great overview of both the big and the small aspects of the battle."
First-Person view is much like the view players encounter while actually participating in a match. Third Person mode will follow one player from a top-down setting, allowing users to see the surroundings and battles around that particular player.
Freecam is the most ambiguous setting, and allows users to experience a more cinematic view of the multiplayer match. Freecam will use five different cameras set up by DICE (which players can move on their own as well) to get a full view of the battle. This mode is ideal for making movies for the game, and makes it easier to share moments from battles using the next-gen sharing options on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles.
DICE revealed that the team used freecam mode and all the other spectator mode settings to film all of their gameplay footage for Battlefield 4, so it will be interesting to see what sort of movies fans and players make using the mode.
Players will have various controls available in spectator mode, ranging from switching between the four types of viewing to switching between players to follow. Dice hopes spectator modes help make Battlefield 4 more broadcast-friendly and help it become an eSports favorite.
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