After teasing the possibility, EA and DICE have revealed the next DLC pack for Battlefield 4--yes, 4, notHardline--and its focus is on nighttime combat, hence the name: Night Operations.
While we don't yet know everything it consists of, we have gotten our first look at a new map that's set at night, and it certainly looks intriguing. Named Zavod: Graveyard Shift, it's based on existing BF4 map Zavod 311. Despite taking inspiration from 311, Graveyard Shift is described in a blog post as a "new map that brings with it several improvements and tweaks to allow for more stealthy and tactical gameplay."
More has been changed than simply offering players less light; spotting has been changed "to make it easier to flank your opponent," sounds have been improved to help you identify which directions they came from, and gadgets and tools now shine in the dark. You can also destroy lights to make it even more challenging for enemies to see you.
The nighttime setting doesn't stop you from playing any of the standard modes on Graveyard Shift. Gun Master, however, is said to "play very differently at night" and even has a "second, even darker layout" with "special new weapons preset specifically tailored for nighttime." This is said to be the first time a game mode has had its own secondary map layout.
Aside from the map, Night Operations also brings with it weapon tweaks, netcode improvements, and a new team balancer for public servers. This wasn't elaborated on, but will presumably help to prevent games become too lopsided--something that, in a Battlefield game, can result in a particularly frustrating experience.
More details are said to be coming soon, as Night Operations is due out in September. Meanwhile,Battlefield Hardline is also getting its next DLC pack next month.
