Many new details of DICE's upcoming next-generation Battlefield 4 FPS have been leaked by Chiphell forums. According to the leaker, the details would be mentioned in the April issue of the Edge magazine while the game itself would be announced at GDC 2013 during 26th - 27th March. A teaser sneak peak along with cover image of Battlefield 4 have already been released which you can view here.

Battlefield 4 Gets Frosbite 2.5 Engine - Destruction 4.0, Tessellation, Dynamic Weather Affects

In our previous article, we mentioned how the next generation Battlefield 4 would utilize 80% of the Frostbite engine's power compared to 30% utilization in Battlefield 3. The new Frostbite 2.5 engine would feature much more enhanced visuals with PC being the lead platform for the game. According to the details, Battlefield 4 would maintain a steady 60 FPS on 720P resolution on both next generation consoles which include the PS4 and Xbox 720 which is a slight bit of a disappointment since earlier rumors suggested 1080P/60 FPS target for the next-gen consoles. However, the next generation consoles including the PC would get 64 players while the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 would stick to the default 24 player setup which is currently seen on Battlefield 4.

Frostbite 2.5 would be a complete overhaul of the current Frostbite 2.0 engine with DirectX 11 compatibility only on PC. Furthermore, the game would feature Dynamic weather effects such as rain, sandstorms, fog, haze and would be totally random. Each map would get these dynamic weather effects and would change depending on the variable conditions. As you may have noted, the cover image shows a glimpse of these weather effects such as rain. Battlefield 4 would also bring back the much renowned and upgraded Destruction 4.0 system to the game which would offer destructible environments and buildings which we saw back in Bad Company 2. PC versions would benefit from compute power which would render these dynamic destructible effects much more realistically. Furthermore, all of the environment including water, terrain and characters/NPC would make use of the new tessellation technology implemented inside Frostbite 2.5.

Battlefield 4 - Set in China During 2020, Maps, Weapons Confirmed

The game would be set in 2020 but maintains a modern day setting featuring China and USA as the main infantry factions. The single player section of the game would be around 5-6 hours long in which there would be 2 campaigns of the PLA factions and would bring back the renowned animation effects of Bad Company series. Just like Battlefield 3's Capsian border where the main tower collapses at the end of the game, a map would be based in Shanghai China at the end of which the Orient Pearl tower would collapse. Not much single player details were given but there are a ton of Multiplayer details such as the maps which include:

Diaoyu Island

Tiananmen

Shanghai Bund

Xizhimen

Xizhimen Rush

These are only a few of the total maps featured in Battlefield 4. Weapons such as the famouse Chinese J20, Y20, Xianglong would appear in the game along with those from other factions. Two of the confirmed tanks include M1A2 TUSK and PLA Type 99 each featuring their own set of customization options such as laser guidance and armor piercing rounds. Best thing that's mentioned in the leak is that Air Combat zone would be further increased giving much more room for dog fights with jets.

Commander system as expected is definately making a return to the game with the leading commander Providing fire, recharges and UAV detection support to their team. Skill system has also been overhauled. According to the leak, Micro-transactions would be available in the game but they won't affect the balance of the game at all and are entirely optional which is great to hear. As for DLC's, the game would get after a while a map pack which would bring four further maps to the game which include:

Power station in Dalian

Daqing oil field

The great wall of China

Wake Island (Classic Battlefield Map)

In my Battlefield 4 teaser video post i mentioned that if even half of these features came true, Battlefield 4 would be an absolute beast of an FPS. With today's leak, things are hyped up on my end and im really looking forward to GDC 2013's announcement of DICE's upcoming gem aka Battlefield 4.

As you may note, the footage shows a tank gearing up and moving forward. It also shows a reveal on 27th March.