by Tailchaser358And its a bigger deal than you might realize..
As many of you know, after close to a decade of hard work from volunteers, VU (Venice Unleashed) went live towards the end of 2019/early 2020. (See my post and video hanging out with the Devs @ launch here). This was an enormous feat of determination and skill by a small team to finally make this happen, something Patrick Soderlund himself said he said he doubted would never happen, but it still strikes me, that, especially in some of the comments I see on some of the freqplatoon’s youtube videos, and indeed some of the sentiment I hear around the project that people don’t seem to really grasp what the team has accomplished or even what VU really is.
It seems many in the Battlefield community and the Gaming community at large seem to have the idea that VU is a mod in and of itself, which it is, but more than that, VU is framework if you will, it provides the greater community with the tools they need to truly modify the game from the ground up. It comes with Environment editors, Map editors, it comes with wide array of intuitive and simple to use tools that allows for more functionality and customization. In short VU is the Mod, that allows all other Mods possible. It’s the Half Life Development Kit which allows for the creation of Counter Strike to give you an analogy, for those old enough to remember when CS was just a Mod. While the Venice Unleashed Project is a technical marvel, it’s the Mods that will come from Venice Unleashed that I believe will truly define VU’s ultimate success – And those Mods, Mods like the upcoming BF3 Project Reality Mod, that will show the masses just how powerful VU truly is, and what it means for the Gaming community as at large.
Those of you who are Battlefield Veterans, those especially who have grown up on PC, have no doubt at least heard of Battlefield 2 Project Reality Mod, a Mod that STILL in 2022 has a dedicated following, and for good reason. Take Battlefield 2, Reimagine it as a Realistic, Squad Based Milsim utilising Dice’s Refractor Engine and what you have is one the greatest Milsim games ever created. For those of you who haven’t played it, it’s basically ARMA or perhaps Squad, but still manages to be fun without falling into some of the pitfalls of a milsim like ARMA, and in my opinion a more well rounded, intense gameplay experience over something like Squad, that doesn’t have destructable environment that the Refractor Engine is known for. And in many ways, in my personal opinion in fact actually better than the base game as it takes the team work aspect of Battlefield and ramps it up to eleven.
In fact it should be no surprise that several of those who worked on BF2 Project Reality Mod have since gone on to work on titles such as Hell Let Loose which has been a massive success no matter how you cut it, and you can see where HLL’s pedigree comes from with some of the design decisions being traced directly back to those early days of Project Reality. Perhaps Ironically, as successful as Hell Let Loose is, and as realistic and gritty as it feels, it still frustrates me that as gamers we still, in 2022 are unable to take out that pesky sniper in the confines of an abandoned building, by simply calling in some heavy artillery, because the underlying engine/tech simply doesn’t allow for that to happen. the Unreal Engine is a fine Engine, it has allowed small indie studio’s reach for the stars and achieve their goals in a way that was never possible previously. But it’s still nothing like the Refractor or indeed the Frostbite engine when it comes to things like environmental destruction which has always been a major draw card for those playing Battlefield.
The release of Battlefield 3, Project Reality Mod will, in my humble opinion will be a watershed moment for not just the Battlefield Community, but also the FPS Gaming community as a whole. While people may doubt the impact of this game due to age of Battlefield 3, the truth is the game in 2022, still looks incredible, and a massive credit to the team at Dice when Dice was still largely the same Dice that bought us 1942 and Battlefield 2. Long before the controversy and dismal showing of V and 2042, and I really feel like the stars are aligning for the Project Reality team. People are not only rejecting 2042 en mass, but there is a real hunger from the community at large to go back to the days of Battlefield 3, a modern setting, without the gimmicks and gadgets, where platoons were a thing (more on this in another post stay tuned) and developers had to ship a complete game because it was being pressed to a disk and sent to a store.
If 2042 had been a success, whilst I still would be writing this, perhaps I would be less optimistic about BF3 RM getting the attention it deserves, and the bright future which I believe it now has, but I would argue that even Portal, which those who still defend 2042 use as a linchpin for saying the game still has its place – Although I don’t have any hard evidence – in my opinion was implemented hastily, and as a reaction to try and take some of the wind out of Venice Unleashed sails. People are hungry for a new Battlefield experience, and Battlefield 3 Reality Mod, may not only be the penacea for dissapointed and downtroden Battlefield Community. – If successful, the implications may even have implications on the franchise as a whole.
Perliminary videos and screenshots look amazing and as someone who has kept a close eye on the project for a while now I can tell you progress is moving fast, and beta keys are being handed out to those lucky enough to receive them. Stay tuned, and I’ll see you guys on the Battlefield.
Check out all the latest BFRM info here: https://bf3reality.com/
Join the BFRM Discord here: https://discord.com/invite/Uh78Ju8x4B
And for more Battlefield and Gaming news follow me @Tailchaser358 and @freqHQ
