In Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, PS4 and Xbox players will finally be able to try out Field of View sliders in CoD while all players should get to experiment with the game’s first Ping system in multiplayer.
In an effort to make Black Ops Cold War as historic a CoD title as ever, Treyarch and Raven Software are adding a Ping system, akin to Warzone’s, in multiplayer and testing console limitations by introducing an FOV slider across all platforms.
This marks a departure from Modern Warfare 2019, in which FOV control was limited to PC and pings were limited to Warzone.
FOV slider across all platforms
Historically, controlling FOV has been limited to PC games as consoles have struggled with maintaining their frames-per-second (FPS) at larger in-game views. Call of Duty has typically run at 60 FPS, so consoles have been limited to the highest FOV possible to maintain that rate.
Now, starting with the Open Beta, Black Ops Cold War will allow console players to choose from the spectrum of FOV, joining the PC fanbase in finding their preferred visibility from 60 to 120. Treyarch have already warned that PS4 and Xbox users may experience framerate issues (likely unideal stuttering or tearing) at higher FOV, so players will need to be conscious of that when choosing their preferred level of visibility.
One has to assume that BOCW is optimized enough to handle larger perspectives than usual on console, but this is overall a nod to the game’s future as a globally competitive cross-play title. It will also be interesting to monitor how much larger aspect ratios can go on the PS5 and Xbox Series X without encountering framerate drops.
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Multiplayer Ping system
Following Apex Legends’ lead, Warzone deployed an expansive pinging system that allowed players to point out everything from enemies to locations and even warnings that enemies had gone through locations. While that mechanic has been a blessing to communication and teamwork in the battle royale, players were left solely dependent on their microphones for callouts in multiplayer.
That’s changing in BOCW, as Treyarch have explained that MP competitors will now be able to “ping objectives, loot, locations, and enemies for your teammates during a match.” Like Warzone, players will be able to choose different button layouts to ping with their preferred mappings.
“By default, Ping is mapped to D-pad left on controllers and bound to Z on keyboards. You’ll also find alternate Ping-prioritized button layouts, like Bumper Ping and Bumper Ping Tactical, in the Gameplay Settings menu. Coordinate with your team by pinging objectives, pointing out loot for your Fireteam, or warning your squad of nearby danger by double-tapping Ping (or the dedicated Danger Ping key on keyboards). And for those tired of asking the age-old question, “Can anyone take out that Spy Plane?” … you can even ping enemy Scorestreaks.”
Overall, these changes should be welcome ones. While it’s unclear how FOV will perform for console players at the highest levels across different systems, adding that control and the ability to ping in multiplayer makes for a game that is thorough and consistent throughout every platform.