In many multiplayer FPS games, one of the most fun things you can do is to hop into a helicopter or jet engine and start flying around. The problem is, unless you happen to be unnaturally good, you’re going to suck and your team will hate you. You’re only option to train would be to make a new game and not allow anybody else in it, but considering how many games nowadays won’t start without a minimum number of people in it this isn’t exactly a feasible way to train anymore.
Luckily for you, DICE is aware of your dilemma, and is looking to be accommodating. Lars Gustavsson, creative director of DICE told IGN “We’ve definitely heard that people are afraid of getting in there [and using vehicles like helicopters] and that’s not our intent, so what we’ve done is, we’ve added a test range, which allows you to try out all the hardware ahead of time.” Awesome.
Adding a test range like that is a simple addition that makes you wonder why they didn’t have one in the first place. Of course, this isn’t going to stop people from just jumping into the first jet they see and subsequently crash it 10 seconds later, but at least now the teammates can say “Go back to the test range, n00b” instead of the regular “you suck, n00b”. I got the feeling, though, that you’re going to see a lot more people vying for control of a jet or helicopter now because they spent 10 minutes in the test range and are now “experts” at flying them.