DC Global Front mod for BattleField 1942

Welcome to the Front!

The Global Front Mod began life as Future Combat, a mini-mod for Desert Combat in the Spring of 2004. Marshall Nord, Layoric, Shadow Co., Norjax, PussyLiquor and a half-dozen other friends use to LAN party with DC on a regular basis and were constantly discussing more enhancements for the Desert Combat environment. Future Combat was a LAN modification never intended for public release. BF2 was just around the corner and we looked forward to the heir of Desert Combat, but soon found it to be lacking. Game play wasn't as enjoyable, view distances were worse than BF1942, and vehicles were few and far between. In addition, BF2 and its editor was a resource hog hampering the modding simplicity of BF1942. We held out hope for full conversion mods that were slow to appear.

We continued to play Desert Combat and other BF1942 mods while tinkering with the game; pushing the Refractor2 engine to the limits. We reasoned that current PC technology should be able to squeeze more enhancements out of the old game. When we increased the view distances it became apparent that the dynamics of the game had changed. This was a Battlefield! The ghostly sight of a high-altitude plane, an armored column on the distant ridge, MLRS rockets firing out to the horizon… Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war! We began to seriously discuss a public release, but wondered if there was any interest in the community for a new mod of an old game. Thankfully, Beach Assault Studios released their High Definition version of the original Battlefield 1942 and received an overwhelming positive response. It was then that we decided to go public.

Global Front is set in the near future and will feature campaigns, maps, equipment and armies of a hypothetical World War. Some of our HD features include increased view distances, double-sized map detail textures and larger-sized skins. We are modifying the menus and HUD to enhance the game play experience. Our goal is to replace all of the original Battlefield 1942 statics with new content suitable for the modern battlefield. Some of the original European maps will be converted to new environments based on the campaigns of Global Front.

The first major release will focus on long-range, vehicle combat in the Central Asian Theater of Conflict. We have created imaginary scenarios based on the current geopolitical world. We had to use an artistic license in order to set the stage and provide balance for game play purposes. So, if you find it hard to believe the "stage" that we set for Global Front, try and accept it as a stretch of the truth or an alternate universe; whatever is easier for you to digest. Remember it is a GAME.

The primary Opposition Army in this Theater is the Iranian Armed Forces. They are the logical replacement for the Iraqis of Desert Combat and will prove to be a formidable foe, having a wide range of foreign and domestic equipment in their inventory.

The primary Coalition Army is the United States Military. This near-future war continues to wear on the once mighty juggernaut, so only a trickle of new equipment will see service alongside old, proven arms. Such are the realities of logistics and funding.

Joining the Coalition is Turkmenistan, the victims of the first shot in the Global Front war. The Turkmenistan military is no match for Iran, but they have enough Ex-Soviet equipment to put up a fight and deny the Iranians an easy seizure of their oil and gas fields.

The second major release will add the Indonesians to the Opposition and the Australians to the Coalition. Other nations will be added depending on assistance from the community. DCX did such a great job adding the UK to Desert Combat, that we would be hard-pressed to mimic their results.

Our intent first and foremost is fun! We welcome any assistance and contributions to prolong the life of an old War Horse.

If you enjoy Desert Combat, we hope you will join us on the battlefields of DC Global Front!

Marshall Nord
Dev Team Leader