Borderlands 4 will include an optional combat radar, following intense pleas from the community.
In a lengthy social media thread by Randy Pitchford, the Gearbox CEO broke down the thought process behind the navigation and combat design in Borderlands 4, concluding the thread by revealing the team managed to add in a combat radar last week.
Pitchford wrote: “The feature will be *off* by default at launch. And, it didn’t come on-line early enough to make it into our branch for the build we’re bringing to the Borderlands Fan Fest this weekend. But it is now officially in the game!”.
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Pitchford elaborated: “This happened because of the best elements of our community. I’m talking about the real fans who sincerely want the best for the game and gave constructive notes and made reasonable arguments. You know who you are and you rock! You made this happen!”.
The whole thread is worth reading for those interested in the game design process. It offers a lot of insight into the thought process behind the new movement and navigation mechanics, the costs of adding a combat radar to Borderlands 4, and how a recent press tour provided feedback that ultimately convinced the developers a combat radar would be a good idea.
Borderlands 4 creative director Graeme Timmins added their own thoughts on the reveal, noting: “Props to Jason Brown, Justin Dooley, and Ray Peña who went incredibly fast when I told them – ‘If we’re doing this, I want it for launch.’ This is just how committed we are here guys; we’re doing everything to make BL4 the definitive Borderlands.”
A combat radar was an ever-present feature of previous installments in the Borderlands series, and offered quick and reliable information as to where immediate dangers were at any one time. This wouldn’t be a huge deal at first, but as you proceeded to more challenging content it became vastly more important.
As such, its absence was noteworthy. In response to this news Borderlands fans celebrated on social media, with user furt1v3ly writing: “Oh heck yeah. I didn’t need the mini-map but that radar beats the compass system hands-down. And being able to turn it off for screenshots or for extra frame rate should be a bigger win. This is the best choice.”
It’s a moment of good PR for Gearbox, at a time when it’s sorely needed. Gearbox recently revealed the $70 retail price of Borderlands 4, which Pitchford was publically “stoked” about. This came after Pitchford stated on social media that “real fans” would get a copy regardless of its price.