Today marks the start of the beta for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Following the criticism of the alpha on PS4, Treyarch will be making a lot of changes. In an exclusive interview, the developers revealed what they consider to be the most important changes.
What is the interview about? Just before the start of the Black Ops Cold War beta, we had the opportunity to speak with the developers from Treyarch. During the conversation, we discussed numerous aspects of the new Call of Duty 2020 and asked what they regard as the most significant changes from the often heavily criticized alpha to the upcoming beta.
Who did we speak with? Our shooter expert Sven Galitzki and Tony Flame, the Lead Game Designer at Treyarch, were the conversation partners.
Many changes for the beta – These are the 3 most important areas
Criticism after the alpha: During the alpha, which was held exclusively on PS4, there was indeed praise but also a lot of criticism for Treyarch’s new work. Weapons didn’t feel right, the graphics were criticized, and movements and animations weren’t really smooth either. In these areas, CoD Cold War felt like a step back to Modern Warfare, according to some players.
Our shooter author Maik Schneider shared a similar opinion, finding the gameplay enjoyable but also noted: CoD Cold War promises next-gen multiplayer, but the alpha reminds of PS3 times
The consequences for the beta: However, the developers did not take this lightly. During the feedback from the alpha test, Treyarch emphasized that it was an alpha and that they would work on many issues from the first public test. In the interview with MeinMMO, Flame announced that many changes would come for the beta – and they kept their word.
Recently, the official patch notes with the changes for the beta were released by Treyarch – and they are indeed massive. From changes to weapons, improvements to the spawn system, to numerous bug fixes, there is quite a lot of content. But which aspects do the developers consider most important?
By the way, you can view the English list of all changes here on the official Treyarch site: Official Patch Notes for the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Beta
Here are the most important changes according to Tony Flame: Although there are numerous changes, 3 areas stand out to Flame in particular. In his opinion, they are
- Changes to gunplay and the combat system
- Changes to the movement system
- as well as changes to the graphics
the most important elements that were improved from the alpha to the beta by Treyarch. Alongside matchmaking, these were some of the areas that were harshly criticized by many participants in the alpha.
And whether it’s animations when shooting, movement animations, weapon recoil behavior, or the associated sounds – there will be quite a few changes here, according to Flame.
The Lead Game Designer from Treyarch stated: “We have worked extremely hard on this. Even before the alpha was playable. But during the alpha, we received a lot of feedback – both positive and constructive criticism. We took that to heart and are now proudly bringing it into the beta.”
In general, feedback and close communication with the community are very important to Treyarch: “We always accept feedback and constantly look at what people are saying.” He confidently adds: “And I believe we made some good strides regarding weapon feel and movements – in terms of the flow of it all… These were some of the key points.”
Flame revealed that the alpha of CoD Black Ops was also new territory for Treyarch, at least on this scale: “Of course, this was just the alpha. But I believe we’ve never released an alpha for people to play from home before. Usually, it’s during E3 or something similar. So it was a new situation for us. We are not used to millions of players playing the alpha from home.”
And in the interview, it is repeatedly emphasized that it was just an alpha, and it was not yet fully representative of what will ultimately be released. The last 10% of the work supposedly constitutes 90% of the overall effort, Flame says.
“It was an alpha, and players will see graphical improvements, lighting effect improvements, performance improvements – visibility will be better. Much of the feedback we received from the alpha was already known issues we were working on, and the feedback was an additional motivation to push harder in certain areas.”
Another important change – the FOV slider: If you were disappointed by Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War during the alpha, taking another look during the beta may be worthwhile. Because there are indeed a lot of promising changes coming to the beta.
With the start of the beta, Black Ops Cold War is getting something that console players have wished for years – namely a FoV slider. Tony Flame already announced this.
This will finally allow players on PS4 and Xbox One to adjust their field of view. A ping system for multiplayer will also be introduced to enhance communication with teammates without voice chat. More information will be available soon here on MeinMMO. Here are 5 more important things you should know for the beta launch.
What about you? Will you check out CoD Cold War in the beta? What do you think of the changes? Are these factors decisive for you as well? By the way, during the beta, you can also snag an exclusive reward: Here’s how to unlock your first weapon blueprint for CoD Cold War in the beta
