Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says $100B OpenAI Investment Unlikely as AI Demand Surges 
Amazon Website Outage Disrupts Thousands of U.S. Shoppers Before Services Recover 
Trump Administration Proposes Tough AI Contract Rules as Anthropic Blacklisted by Pentagon 
Yann LeCun's AI Startup AMI Raises $1 Billion at $3.5 Billion Valuation 
U.S. Considers New Rules Tying AI Chip Exports to Investment and Security Guarantees 
AI is already creeping into election campaigns. NZ’s rules aren’t ready 
OpenAI and U.S. Defense Department Update Agreement to Clarify AI Usage Terms 
Apple Bets Big on India: iPhone Production Hits 55 Million Units as China Reliance Fades 
OpenAI Explores Partnership With The Trade Desk to Expand ChatGPT Advertising 
Iran Crisis Could Threaten AI Data Center Expansion and Global Chip Demand, South Korea Warns 
Facebook Outage Disrupts Thousands of Users Across the United States 
Lockheed Martin Secures $1.9B U.S. Air Force Contract for C-130J Training and Maintenance Systems 
Indonesia Issues Stern Warning to Meta Over Online Gambling and Disinformation 
U.S. Officials Review Tencent’s Stakes in Epic Games, Riot Games Over Security Concerns 
OpenAI Secures $110 Billion Funding Round at $840 Billion Valuation Ahead of IPO 
Nvidia to Launch New AI Inference Processor to Boost OpenAI Performance 
Anthropic Sues Pentagon Over AI Blacklist, Citing Free Speech Violations 
In the months leading to the release of “Battlefield 2042,” DICE has emphasized that the game would feature the biggest maps ever introduced in the series, along with increasing the player count to 128 on PC and current-gen consoles. But after the game was shipped, many players realized bigger is not always better. DICE has recognized that now in a lengthy blog post detailing upcoming changes in the game’s map design.
“While the larger maps offer more playspace and freedom, a side effect is that gameplay is now spread out more, resulting in an overall increase in time to combat when related to playing the objective,” DICE wrote. One solution the developer has determined is to move the Base Spawn and Flags to reduce the time players will have to spend walking instead of engaging in combat.
The level of intensity of “Battlefield 2042” combat is another area DICE is evaluating, and the developer says they believe this is also related to having 128-player game modes. DICE particularly mentioned Breakthrough, where opposing teams have only one main objective. With so many players and vehicles on the map, DICE admitted that it can get “too chaotic.”
DICE has, interestingly, recalled reducing the Breakthrough mode to having just 64 players last year. And while the developer did not make any promises, it seems like one of the “Battlefield 2042” they are considering is reducing the Breakthrough player count from 128 to 64 for good.
The developer also recognized players’ feedback that “Battlefield 2042” maps have too many open spaces and flat grounds, making many of them easy targets of long-range attacks. DICE said they are aiming “to reduce the focus on long-range combat,” along with adding more objects that could provide cover.
Another improvement DICE is aiming to implement is providing more defined paths so “Battlefield 2042” players can experience more focused combat. In a separate point in the blog post, the developer reiterated the need to add more cover across all maps in the game.
“The plans that we’ve outlined to you today will require substantial development time,” DICE said. This could mean that the announced changes will not be available anytime soon. One thing DICE confirmed is that the five main areas of improvement will not go live at the same time on all maps. The developer did not announce a release timeline for these updates. But it was confirmed that DICE is prioritizing to apply these changes to Kaleidoscope on Conquest and Breakthrough game modes, which is aimed to be included in the Season One update in early summer.
