Star Wars: Battlefront 3

[novicius]

534
Star Wars: Battlefront Will Be Shown at E3, EA CEO Says (http://news.softpedia.com/news/Star-Wars-Battlefront-Will-Be-Shown-at-E3-EA-CEO-Says-440885.shtml)


Electronic Arts is planning to reveal more of their upcoming Star Wars themed video game, Star Wars: Battlefront, currently in development at DICE, during this year's edition of the E3 expo, according to EA CEO Andrew Wilson.

Responding to a request for an update on the Star Wars titles in development that EA is presiding over, during an investor call, Wilson revealed that the company intends to reveal more about the new Star Wars: Battlefront as well as about some new projects that are currently in the making at the annual game conference, as GameSpot reports.

Electronic Arts first announced Star Wars: Battlefront during last year's E3, showing a brief teaser trailer featuring everyone's frozen planet, Hoth. The game is powered by EA's fancy new engine, developed by the DICE team, Frostbite.

The company expects to have the game ready as early as summer 2015, as part of its exclusive publishing agreement with Disney, the current owner of the Star Wars franchise. Battlefront will be the first of a series of games set in the popular science fiction universe, with other titles currently being worked on at Visceral Games and BioWare, both owned by EA.
KEEF, IT'S REALLY HAPPENING!!1! :rawk:

[Kchrpm]

HOLD ME CARLO!

[Alan P]

I just hope they can polish up the Frostbite engine as BF4 has so much potential yet is completely let down by bugs, lag and shitty net code.

[Kchrpm]

so much potential yet is completely let down by bugs, lag and shitty net code.
Sounds like a Battlefront game to me! :D

[Kchrpm]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwWLns7-xN8

http://www.polygon.com/2015/4/17/8444145/star-wars-battlefront-preview-release-date

Release date: Nov 17th

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/PEisrHtKbCZsLDeeMJQrtR88K8Q=/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3616578/Star-Wars-Battlefront-_4-17_D.0.jpg

https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FnjI9GNBHF07zUPPaZHaeF8Qy0I=/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3616586/Star-Wars-Battlefront-_4-17_F.0.jpg

https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nDOdI_BjkY-MZsovmtG30I1aP1A=/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3616582/Star-Wars-Battlefront-_4-17_B.0.jpg

https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oFCZ3Fz0vTD2GzfLOal9-J7ymr8=/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3616584/Star-Wars-Battlefront-_4-17_A.0.jpg

https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-eZN4t5h-0jz6_JMiCJdxAYHdvc=/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3616580/Star-Wars-Battlefront-_4-17_E.0.jpg


Star Wars Battlefront will be a first- and third-person shooter; players can choose which perspective suits them best. The focus, DICE said, is on online multiplayer with up to 40-player battles, but the developer is creating offline challenges inspired by moments from the films that can be played solo, or cooperatively either online or split-screen. Fegraeus said those offline challenges will be highly replayable, with a variety of difficulty levels.

The game won't have a traditional campaign, DICE says, of the kind we've seen in the studio's recent Battlefield games.


One new mechanic in Battlefront is what DICE is calling the "Partner" system. Players will pick a friend and form a tag team, Fegraeus explained, and in multiplayer, you'll "always play together, spawn on each other, see each other." Partners will also be able to share their unlocks, meaning that if you're a player who's unlocked a bunch of weapons or skills in Battlefront through the game's progression, your partner will also be able to use those unlocks, even if they've just started playing.


While DICE says it will have dogfights in Star Wars Battlefront, it won't have dedicated space battles. Bach said the team wanted to focus on a mix of ground-based and vehicle-based battles.


Star Wars Battlefront will focus mainly on the original trilogy of Star Wars films, not the prequels or sequel trilogy

[drew]

That is goddamn spectacular.

[novicius]

Looks great. :up: :up:

[Phil_SS]

Hell fuckin yeah!

[novicius]

Star Wars Battlefront Has Free Force Awakens DLC Called Battle of Jakku (http://news.softpedia.com/news/Star-Wars-Battlefront-Has-Free-Force-Awakens-DLC-Called-Battle-of-Jakku-478711.shtml)


Star Wars Battlefront launches on November 17, a few weeks ahead of the actual "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" movie, and in order to avoid spoiling events, it will get a free DLC called Battle of Jakku on December 8, which references the upcoming film.

[Alan P]

I'm hoping the PC version looks better than that by a fair bit and I would like to see some in game screens and video, not just 'in game engine' cutscenes.

[Jason]

I want to want this game, but I am really not into the Battlefield style games where it's just a PVP map of constant death. I prefer running co-op missions with some semblance of a story, personally. Every time I play PvP shooters, I die within 1.2 seconds, respawn, die, respawn, die.

[GreatScawt]

Jason, I think there's supposed to be other modes. Like a co-op challenges you can do and replay with friends. If it's anything like Spec Ops from MW2 or Coop from BF3, it could be pretty decent fun.

Here's a couple of videos from people talking about the gameplay video DICE showed, but aren't allowed to upload.
A lot of good info in here, and it went over something my friends and I were discussing: Are these true in-game graphics with cinematic cameras? Or pre-rendered stuff? They likely had some beast-ass PC running it, but it's apparently pretty true to how the gameplay actually looks. DICE showed off PS4 footage running at 60FPS (with some more "jaggies" that PCs can better smooth out). So that's pretty amazing :up:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ege4tPDSNoQ


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZuKHiZKf3A

[novicius]

Playing the game at-speed, it should look plenty fine. :up:

[Kchrpm]

I want to want this game, but I am really not into the Battlefield style games where it's just a PVP map of constant death. I prefer running co-op missions with some semblance of a story, personally. Every time I play PvP shooters, I die within 1.2 seconds, respawn, die, respawn, die.

One of the devs confirmed on Twitter that there will be Missions that are playable alone offline, or co-op. He didn't specify but I assume he meant online co-op.

[Rare White Ape]

A Star Wars singleplayer adventure, a-la BF3 or CoD would be AWESOME.

And I say this despite my disdain for the constant BF/CoD re-runs that come out every year.

[Yw-slayer]

RWA - play The Old Republic?

[Kchrpm]

I have played Old Republic. It is NOTHING like BF3/COD singleplayer, mostly because the gameplay is so stale and slow.

Edit: there was a COD-like Star Wars game starring clone troopers on XBox & PC: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Republic_Commando

It got good reviews: http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox/star-wars-republic-commando

Edit 2: From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Republic_Commando

The squadmate order system allows the player general tactical control over the three NPC squadmates that round out the four-man commando team. The order system resembles a simplified version of the context-based command menus seen in Star Wars Battlefront 1. Many objects in the game environment will highlight when the crosshair is placed over them. The player can then press the use key to issue an order automatically associated with the object; for example, a sealed door may highlight with a synchronized team breach-and-clear command, or a computer console might give have a "slice" (computer hacking) command, while a pile of cargo boxes suitable for a cover position with good vantage may provide a "take up Sniper/Anti-Armor position" command. Where possible, the squadmates will usually take their preferred roles (sniper, demolitions and technical). The player can also order the squad to move to secure any position (wherever the crosshair is pointed), or perform search-and-destroy. Also, there are orders to command the squadmates to group up or spread out according to the player's discretion for the situation.

Wow, that sounds great.

[Rare White Ape]

RWA - play The Old Republic?

I tried to like it. I just can't do turn-based bullshit. It completely sucks you back out of the great atmosphere they built for the game.

And Republic Commando is set in the clone wars. That shit just isn't allowed at my house.

[Rare White Ape]

I think I just want a great FPS where they replace the Nazis for stormtroopers. And tanks for AT-STs. And shitty old French villages for shitty old Naboo/Tatooine/Endor etc.

[Kchrpm]

Jedi Knight series? That's going way back.

We'll likely get something like that looking forward, though.

[Rare White Ape]

Exactly. Set in the OT period. Modern consoles and modern shooter conventions.

I was looking forward to 1313 but that died a horrible death.

[novicius]

Hardcopy preorder'd. :shocker:

[Yw-slayer]

Of course The Old Republic is nothing like an FPS. But he said "adventure".

[Rare White Ape]

Action? Adventure? A Jedi craves not these things, for a Jedi chooses to pause every five seconds during a fight to choose which attack to use.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBjxiUVJsu4

BOOORRIIIINNNGG

When I say adventure, I mean anything on the spectrum from Ocarina of Time, to MGS, to Rogue Squadron, to Super Mario 64, to GTA V and to outright FPS like Halo, Col-o-Doody etc. And I chose the word 'adventure' so as to not restrict myself to FPSs, little did I know that it also technically includes games that lack immediate action and favour clicking little buttons between lightsaber swings.

[Yw-slayer]

It's not my fault that you didn't know what term to use. Nor do I care. :finger:

[Rare White Ape]

Well you're a poo head.

[Yw-slayer]

I'm not bovvered.

[novicius]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXU5k4U8x20

[GreatScawt]

My schwartz is at attention :up:

[Phil_SS]

Shut up and take my money!

[novicius]

I will say that it plays *identical* to Battlefront 1 -- same layout for the Hoth level as the old XBOX 1/Playstation 2 game. :|

Also completely wrong outfit for Luke; he should be in his X-Wing uniform. #pedantic

[Rare White Ape]

"Gameplay footage"

But yeah. I'm so in.

[Kchrpm]

I'm actually lukewarm on this (no pun intended). As Carlo said, so far it just looks like a spit shine on the old gameplay. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was something more surprising than that.

[Rare White Ape]

I'm not lying to ya, but I'm in it for the graphics and the atmosphere.

Who needs genre-pushing gameplay when it looks and feels 100% like the original hallowed trilogy?

[Kchrpm]

Someone who was still playing Battlefront 2 online long after normal people quit, including on a 360. The graphics have been good enough for me for so long. That Hoth video did not look visually impressive to me, but perhaps my memory is giving too much credit to the old games.

[Rare White Ape]

Battlefront Alpha testing has begun, and guess what?

Naughty players are uploading footage of Hoth and Tatooine all up in this joint.

Search 'Star Wars battlefront alpha' on YouTube and you'll get nice footage like this:

http://youtu.be/fdyjvJnDTyk

[Jason]

I want to be interested in this... but it's just a PvP shooter with a Star Wars skin, so... :(

[novicius]

Yup I'm probably going to change my preorder and pick this up used sometime instead. :(

[Rare White Ape]

More footage! It's like a leak-a-thon, except this time it's new footage of a new location from EpVII

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6-HUgzYPm9g

[21Kid]

So... Battlefield: Star Wars?
I still might be interested since I like both of them.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/OLrsEbuAOV8/maxresdefault.jpg

[2ndMoparMan]

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/r7jhfJLkS7s/maxresdefault.jpg

[JSGeneral]

More footage! It's like a leak-a-thon, except this time it's new footage of a new location from EpVII

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6-HUgzYPm9g

Dunno if you checked that link or not RWA... Your previous post did have gameplay footage. This one does not.

[Jason]

:lol:

[21Kid]

Star Wars Battlefront Beta Coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC in October

[Rare White Ape]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SYY4FZS-BA

[Rare White Ape]

BETA IS OUT NOW

I have it downloading now to my PS4. 7-and-a-bit gigabytes.

[Alan P]

I don't like it. :/

Graphically and aurally, on PC anyway it's amazing. The 'Gameplay' feels very arcade and shallow. Hoth is way too open for the unstoppable, practically invincible AT-AT to not be OP. Rebels nearly always lose because 90% of the people playing think it's TDM or some shit like that and do fuck all to win, such as capping the Uplinks. Blaster Pisstols seem to be just as strong as Blaster rifles so there's little point in changing to anything else. It all just feels a bit 'weaksauce' and I can't see me picking it up unless it's hellish cheap. Vader/Luke is completely overpowered as are the AT-AT's. One guy went 53-9 simply because he was in the AT-AT and one guy played Vader 3 times in one round. Also if you come across one of the 'supers' then you're dead meat and can't do a damned thing. Also Lightsabers have a range of about 30ft despite being 3 feet long.

Won't be buying, I'll stick with BF4.

[GreatScawt]

Ah, thanks, saves me the download (and from downloading Origin as well). :up:

[Kchrpm]

IMO the AT-ATs and the Heroes *should* be overpowered, but rare. It should be a major accomplishment to take them down. But this is all stuff they'll likely tune during the beta, and/or use to tune the final product. LET THE INSTALL CONTINUE!

[Kchrpm]

The nice thing about Battlefield/Battlefront, at least for me, has always been that you had options to do other things and not just run directly towards the people who were better than you and let them shoot you. Because of the gameplay modes available for multiplayer in the beta, it's back to just running yourself into the fray and hoping you don't get sniped by the long range rifle that every person can carry as a perk. Hopefully there will be a more sprawling, free form mode in the main game.

[21Kid]

They just have TDM in the demo? bummer.

I always play territory, or whatever those other objective based modes are. Hardline has some fun driving based ones. most of the people just play deathmatch no matter what the objective is, like Keith mentioned. :(

I lost the game, but look at my K/D ratio!!! :hard:

[Kchrpm]

They actually don't have TDM in the demo.

There's a survival mode, which is basically horde mode. Wave after wave of AI enemy, random objective to capture/protect (drop ships that will give you a perk when you capture them). Can be played solo, local 2p co-op or online 2p co-op.

Then there are two online modes, both with objectives.

The first I haven't gotten to play yet, it failed every time I tried to open it, but the description sounded like you had to capture and protect drop ships.

The other mode is the one everyone was excited about, objectives on Hoth. There are two AT-ATs walking through a large area, but they can only be harmed for a short time after a Y-Wing bombing run (no snow speeders with tail hooks, no bombing the inside). The only way to call in a bombing run is to capture and defend a radio tower (I forget what they actually call it, but you get the idea), of which only three are active at a time. As the AT-ATs walk along their pre-programmed path at a pre-programmed speed, the radio towers will deactivate and you'll have to attack/defend the next 3. Stronger weapons, shields, and vehicles (AT-AT, AT-ST, TIE fighters and X-Wings) are picked up randomly on the map (you pick up a blue power up, basically).

The problem is that Hoth is mostly just big wide open spaces, and the radio beacons are mostly out in the open. You spawn, run into a big white space towards an objective, and get picked off by someone. Then do it again. Eventually you'll find one beacon that has a side path to get to it, but there's no protection at the beacon, and when one of only three are turned on, guess where everyone focuses their fire?

It makes for a ton of furious action, lots of blasters going off all around you, but you just end up dying a LOT. Of course maybe it's just that I'm bad at shooters, but there's no way to just help out in some other way. You can't provide vehicle support, because the vehicles are all powerups in the middle of the action. There are no support items/classes (though I've seen orbital strikes, don't know if it's a perk or a power up). Your goal is to throw yourself at the objective, or stand back behind a hill or in a trench and shoot at the people throwing themselves at the objective. There may be a huge sprawling map, but to crank the intensity up they cut it up into 3 small chunks and force everyone to just get shoehorned into the same area for maximum blowupitude. Expert players may feel different, but as just an average person it feels like you're presence is useless. You spawn, you see people (or not), you die. You *might* get to an objective alive if you spawn near it and two or three other people are already there, but give it 5 or 10 seconds and shots will come at you from 2-3 directions and you'll be dead. You can spawn on your randomly assigned partner if they're alive, but then you still just end up dying.

So for experts, who can dodge, duck and dodge all the shots, or bullseye a wampa or whatever, maybe the game can be satisfying. If you're not hardcore, just enjoy the sound effects and the visuals and hope that they come up with something other than this manufactured intensity.

[Kchrpm]

Oh, and yes, if you get to go inside an AT-AT, you can rack up kills. Kills that don't matter, because the person just spawns again nearby and runs right towards the same objective. None of it matters. It's all just an empty void filled with cool sights and sounds.

[21Kid]

pew-pew

I like Star Wars and Battlefront. I'll still try it this weekend. :)

[Kchrpm]

It's worth trying just to appreciate how good it looks and sounds. There is SO much potential. Hell, maybe in other modes that aren't in the demo, the potential is actually realized!

I can only dream about Battlefront 2 gameplay with current Battlefront graphics and visuals. It would be mind-blowing. But that's not what this is.

[Yw-slayer]

It is possible that they released it with only the Hoth map as a kind of stress (due to size) and balance test.

I haven't played it yet, but Strike at Karkand from the BF2 beta was a decent stress test but had pretty much no balance problems. It was so good.

[Kchrpm]

I'm not sure if balance is the right word...it's not that one side or weapon or perk is too powerful for the game to be fun, it's that the gameplay loop is too much like Call of Duty and doesn't give you any way to feel useful unless you have the reflexes/aim to win multiple gunfights. There's no far off objective to get yourself to, there's no falling back to get a vehicle since they're all picked up in the middle of the battlezone, there's no support roles, it's all just being on foot and hoping the people aiming at your group shoot at the guy next to you first so you know where they are and you can shoot back. It has removed the variety and depth of Battlefront and replaced it with the immediate action and funneled intensity of modern shooters.

[Rare White Ape]

The flying controls actually suck major amounts of doodle. I'm impressed by that. That takes real effort.

However, with everything else, I'm surrounded by the sights and sounds of original trilogy Star Wars and I fucking love it.

At one point I ran randomly (as you do in this game) around a rocky outcrop and saw a giant mechanical foot right in front of me. I looked up to see an AT-AT 20-30 meters above blasting away at my buddies, and I just had to stop and say wow and soak it all in. It's so noisy. Such scale. Then BLAM. Respawn.

And I flew A-wings and Snowspeeders and TIE fighters and I ran through the Rebel base and I drove an AT-AT and I even got to be Darth Vader and I force choked someone and threw my lightsaber at another guy and almost cut him in half it was so cool.

[Kchrpm]

Yeah, though I didn't see one in my 3-4 matches, there ARE snowspeeders (and A-Wings). And the snowspeeders can towhook the AT-ATs. Considering it's the entire point of the level, though, I guess they just make them rare and the act difficult.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CzYSOrFB40

[Rare White Ape]

They don't become available until the walkers have advanced beyond a certain point, up to the trenches.

[GreatScawt]

So I caved and downloaded it just to see how it plays. Runs incredibly smooth and looks beautiful. It's fun but I probably won't touch the full release.

Also,

http://i.imgur.com/owXACib.webm

[MR2 Fan]

So I caved and downloaded it just to see how it plays. Runs incredibly smooth and looks beautiful. It's fun but I probably won't touch the full release.

Also,

http://i.imgur.com/owXACib.webm

:lol:

[Rare White Ape]

Tonight I was actually involved in a match on Hoth as a Rebel when we successfully defended Echo base.

Yep. It happened!

The key is to go the Walkers big time when they're exposed after a Y-Wing bombing run. Use those mounted cannons. They're more effective than an aerial attack from an A- or X-Wing; you'll probably only get two or three decent strafing runs from the sky whereas the cannons can pump away from their position and chew up their hit points quite effectively. Just mind the rate of fire and cool down time.

It's beautiful to watch an AT-AT succumb to a relentless barrage of laser fire from all around you. It's body explodes then it kneels forward until the burning cockpit is buried deep in the Hoth tundra.

[Yw-slayer]

Yup, I played on the PC tonight instead of the ps4 and (surprise surprise!) people were much more clued up such that we actually won all of the matches, be it Drop Zone or Rebels on Hoth. :up: Even got a go in an X-Wing and in a speeder.

Also m/K rules, except when flying, but you all knew that.

[Rare White Ape]

I'm happy to report that my PC runs SWBFIII quite nicely (thanks for the idea, YW :up: ). I thought it would struggle, but modern hyper-graficzz111one games must make better use of graphics hardware than I expected.

Or it might be tricky scaling effects built into the Battlefield game engine that make it look great with low everything at 1080p.

A more focused go later on will reveal to me if other players are indeed better, and whether I can tweak the settings to extract more betterer graphics without killing my smooth frame rate. I really love the windowed borderless setting. I know GTAV has that. It's ace.

[Rare White Ape]

Reporting back;

No fiddling with graphics for now, as we're running out of time to play the beta, so instead I focused on actually playing against PC players.

Hmmm.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/571/21515088603_3debe856a4_o.png

Camping was the name of the game. The Imperials were positioning themselves on the cliffs above and to the left of Echo Base, as well as taking over the turrets just behind the starting point for the Rebels, so they were pretty much impossible to fight. An AT-ST stood right over in the corner near those cliffs and covered the spawn point as well. I think a bunch of people from my team quit halfway through to go look for other battles. It wasn't very enjoyable.

Things improved somewhat when the AT-ATs advanced toward the trenches, which pushed the spawn point back over to the flatter area. I grabbed a Snowspeeder and survived for 10 seconds, managed to fight the mouse enough to steer it right into a TIE fighter and take it, and me, out.

M/KB is nice, but I prefer it on console. Bring on singleplayer missions!

[Kchrpm]

Bring on singleplayer missions where you get to play as a Jedi!

[Phil_SS]

I thought I heard there is no single player mode.

[Rare White Ape]

There's a survival mode you can play in the beta which has the option for solo play.

It's an arena combat game so there's no scope for traditional story missions, but there will be single player challenges and stuff. Replayability will be limited.

[21Kid]

On/Off-line co-op as well

[Rare White Ape]

Is this graphics whoring in the extreme?

If so, I don't care.

http://starwars.ea.com/starwars/battlefront/planets

Just over a week to go, I'm excited now.

[Yw-slayer]

Might buy. Could be fun but I'm tossing up between this and BLOps 3.

[Rare White Ape]

Isn't Walker Assault one of the bestest game modes out there?

They've fixed the balancing issues from the beta and it's now thrilling to the max. I love it. Especially on Endor where I have no idea where I am half the time because the map is so lush and beautiful and huge and full of stuff.

And I also like Fighter Squadron 'cause I can get by with a decent amount of kills, unlike the FPS modes where it's turn a corner, BOOM HEADSHOT almost all the time and I get 4 kills to 24 deaths.

Also... dem graphics. Oh my god.

[Yw-slayer]

Haven't bought it. No time. LOL.

[Rare White Ape]

Uuuummmmm... Where are all the GTXers who were excited about this game a few months ago? Am I the only one playing this?

[Kchrpm]

We played the beta and were lukewarm on it, and therefore are waiting to see how it settles out.

[Alan P]

I will probably pick it up on Friday when I get paid. Be interesting to see how many are still playing it after a week. The main consensus is that it badly needs more maps.

[Rare White Ape]

There are already multiple maps for each of the four planets, plus Jakku is free DLC in less than two weeks so I don't know what the issue there is.

However if you stick with just one gameplay mode the matchmaking automatically cycles you through the four maps that are available for that particular type of battle until you quit. It might feel a bit samey then but remembering things from games like Halo, not all maps supported all battles so I guess people are confusing a lack of maps with the maps being themed after the planet they're on.

And there's only four themes: desert world, ice world, forest world and volcano world. Just like every Super Mario game.

[Rare White Ape]

We played the beta and were lukewarm on it, and therefore are waiting to see how it settles out.

There's two main things to note in SWBFIII versus it's beta.
1, they adjusted the balancing issues in Walker Assault so now it's a deep and intense gameplay experience; and
2, people have learned how to play it properly.

It's 100% worth it and yes I'm a fanboy so I'm hyping it uuuuuup.

[Kchrpm]

From what I've read it's still mostly infantry dying and respawning every 20-30 seconds.

[Godson]

Yeah, just like every COD. Difference lies on the aspect of vehicles. Really badass vehicles.


Gameplay is a lot like BF ime.

[Yw-slayer]

Seems alright, I guess, but it's not going to give me BIG PUMP and make me MAD SWOLE, yo.

[novicius]

:lol:

[Rare White Ape]

From what I've read it's still mostly infantry dying and respawning every 20-30 seconds.

Did they promise anything more?

Oh kno they dident.

Wait yes they did.

They promised FUCKING STAR WARS!!

[Kchrpm]

I was hoping it would have more in common with the original Battlefront games, specifically Battlefront 2. AI characters on each team to flesh out battles/make everyone feel useful, classes with a lot of variety in look and capabilities, gameplay that required you to be spread out and varied, not all rushing for the same one or two spots.

Just taking a modern shooter and making it a gorgeous Star Wars game is fine, but it's not what I was excited about. I'm happy for you that it excites you so much, and apparently enough people like it since I hear the servers are constantly sufficiently filled, but I'll just wait for it to go on sale, or the sequel.

[Rare White Ape]

But it *IS* a sequel!

:)

[Kchrpm]

...Yes, and I hope that the next sequel is more along the lines of Battlefront 2.

[21Kid]

Don't hold your breath...

[Rare White Ape]

This is pretty bloody funny.

http://kotaku.com/tense-star-wars-battlefront-duel-ends-in-best-way-poss-1744464764?sidebar_promotions_icons=testingoff&utm_expid=66866090-67.e9PWeE2DSnKObFD7vNEoqg.1&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fkotaku.com%2Ftense-star-wars-battlefront-duel-ends-in-best-way-poss-1744464764%3Fsidebar_promotions_icons%3Dtestingoff&utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Facebook&utm_source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow

[novicius]

Those aren't graphics -- now THESE are graphics! (http://kotaku.com/graphics-mod-makes-new-star-wars-game-look-like-a-new-s-1744412541) :D

[21Kid]

It's funny how fast the mod community gets something out, compared to the devs. ;)

[Kchrpm]

Funny that. The article points out a few things:
1) He was working on a GTA V graphics mod that he never released
2) All of his screenshots are only from one very basic map
3) His mod drops the framerate by 30-40 fps

[Rare White Ape]

That same guy is making a similar mod for GTA V. It looks unreal.

Edit: I didn't see Kch's post. Apparently it's a work-in-progress.

[Rare White Ape]

Is this where you all start to say "I told you so!"???


http://youtu.be/mcDyjNz8KEM

[novicius]

Nah that's happened in all sorts of online games.

[Kchrpm]

There's not a general matchmaking option where it looks for full lobbies in any game mode?

Perhaps, being Australian, you're on during a lull in activity, which would not be helped by more Americans being around.

Or perhaps the game just isn't good enough to keep people entertained for a long time, and it's a good thing those of us who were on the fence did not buy it for full price.

[Rare White Ape]

Nah it was midday on a Friday. Not many kids (or adults - heh) will be online at that time of the week. Another factor is that matchmaking will only plonk you in a local server and won't even bother looking overseas (a major shortcoming IMO). Yet another factor is that I was looking for games that are taking place on Jakku but not everyone has access to this yet so it has split the player base and limited the amount of possible matches until it's available to everyone.

I logged on again at 16:00 and got a few full servers so it's no biggie. The Jakku level called Graveyard Of Giants…
Is.
Fucking.
Awesome.
And because I've witnessed a small part of this new canon spectacle I now have high hopes for The Force Awakens. It's got a real Saving Private Ryan-ish vibe to it. Remember the overwhelming spectacle of war from that film? It's here, but in Star Wars clothing.

[Godson]

I've kinda already grown tired of this game

[Kchrpm]

Half off at Microsoft.com today.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Star-Wars-Battlefront-for-Xbox-One/productID.282712400

In-store and online, but the online store says it's sold out already. I don't know if the digital version is discounted as well...*checks* nope, digital version is still $60. Too bad, I would have picked it up.

[21Kid]

Looks like there are plenty of Battlefront copies at GameStop. As part of its weekly sale, the retailer has Star Wars Battlefront on all platforms at a big fat $20 off.

[novicius]

Heh I wonder what eBay & Amazon has it for... ��

[Freude am Fahren]

The Battlefront PS4 bundle has come down to 299.99 to go along with the Uncharted bundle at that price. Not sure about XBone bundles.

[Rare White Ape]

There's no Xbone bundles for BFIII. Sony has an exclusive deal.

But that is a screaming price for a PS4, if you don't have one yet, get that, because it has Darth Vader painted all over it.

[Rare White Ape]

Here's a gameplay thing I recorded. Watch my impressive skillz in which I point the gun at stuff and watch things in the distance.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNkrQBkQTX0

[Freude am Fahren]

There's no Xbone bundles for BFIII. Sony has an exclusive deal.

But that is a screaming price for a PS4, if you don't have one yet, get that, because it has Darth Vader painted all over it.

It's just the standard PS4 with the standard game DL code, not the limited edition package. That's still 399.99

[Phil_SS]

It sure is a beautiful looking game.

[8400RPM]

Picked it up at Gamestop last night. I had planned to get it at launch but the reviews scared me off. I really don't play shooters like this, especially with lack of a deep single-player, but the Star Wars nerd in me had to get it to ooh and ahh at the pretty graphics and sound.

[Rare White Ape]

New updates incoming (starting real soon) for SWBFIII:

http://starwars.ea.com/starwars/battlefront/news/star-wars-battlefront-the-road-ahead

tl;dr --> Basically, right now we're getting a few new large maps for Walker Assault etc. on Hoth and Endor (presumably because it's easy to use current scenery assets and just build new areas) as well as opening previous maps to other game modes, new Hoth outfits for Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, private matches, as well as usual balancing tweaks and bug fixes.


Tomorrow, we are adding more free content to the game for all Star Wars Battlefront players, including:

The Tatooine Survival map will now support the Blast, Droid Run, Drop Zone, Hero Hunt, and Heroes vs Villains multiplayer modes, and is called Raider Camp.

New Hoth-themed outfits for Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, both of which will be available to all fans when they play as these two iconic characters on Hoth – these were unlocked by our players for completing our Heroes’ Holiday community mission last month.

We are giving players the ability to create Private Matches, which makes playing with friends even easier.

The introduction of Daily Challenges and Community Events. These are designed to rally the Community around certain goals and objectives, giving players the chance to earn credits and unlocks even faster. We'll have more news regarding Community Events and Daily Challenges in the days ahead.

And of course, we are also including some overall balancing tweaks to both weapons and multiplayer modes.

In February, we will continue to add more free content for all players, including a new Survival mission on Hoth, and a brand-new Hoth multiplayer map that will support our larger game modes including Walker Assault, Supremacy, Fighter Squadron and Turning Point. Speaking of Turning Point, we are also excited to make this popular mode available on all maps that currently support Walker Assault and Supremacy in the February update.

In March, we will be adding another exciting new multiplayer map on Endor that will support Walker Assault, Supremacy, and Turning Point, and an additional Tatooine Survival map.

In addition to the free content we will be delivering through March, we will continue to listen to our community throughout the year and provide updates designed to make Star Wars Battlefront even more fun for everyone.

Now, a lot of you have been asking for more details around Season Pass, and we want to give you some more information today. Season Pass is going to give you more of the content you love -- maps and modes, Heroes, weapons, and more. We are thrilled to share with you the names of each digital expansion pack, as well as some details on what players can expect with each one and when they will be available.

Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Outer Rim (March 2016) - Fight among the factories of Sullust and battle within Jabba the Hutt's palace on Tatooine
Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Bespin (Summer 2016) - It's hunt or be hunted in this action-packed experience set in the Cloud City of Bespin
Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Death Star (Fall 2016) – That’s no moon! One of the most iconic locations in the Star Wars universe makes its debut in Star Wars Battlefront.
Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Expansion Pack 4 – Title TBA (Early 2017) – We will have more details to share about this exciting new expansion pack in the coming months.

[Rare White Ape]

News of the next big Star Wars game out of EA is starting to seep out.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-01-20-portal-designer-kim-swift-joins-viscerals-star-wars-game-alongside-amy-hennig-and-jade-raymond


Portal lead designer Kim Swift has joined Assassin's Creed executive producer Jade Raymond's new EA studio, Motive, as a design director.

Swift and Raymond will be collaborating with another EA studio, Visceral Games (Dead Space, Battlefield: Hardline), on the still unrevealed Star Wars game being directed by Uncharted creator Amy Hennig.

"We've devoted much of the past year at Motive to building a team of amazingly talented people to work on our new IP and Star Wars projects. I could not be more excited to welcome an all-star like Kim, who shares our enthusiasm for building exceptional games," Raymond said in the company's announcement.

Aside from Portal, Swift has worked on a variety of other games like Left 4 Dead 1 & 2, Quantum Conundrum, and Soul Fjord.

Little is known about Visceral's Star Wars game other than it's due in 2018, will likely feature multiple protagonists, and is apparently "in the style of Uncharted", according to that series' star Nolan North.

excited.gif

[Kchrpm]

Please come to Switch, please come to Switch, please come to Switch...

[novicius]

:up: :up:

[Rare White Ape]

Star Wars Battlefront II (not 3, heh!) will release on November 17th.

Not coming to Switch. Sorry Keith.

Pre-order players will be granted extra content and a list of buffs fit to make anyone who refuses to turn to the dark side and pre-order (like me) feel slightly miffed.

I mean, it is published by EA after all.

http://press-start.com.au/news/pcmac/2017/04/16/star-wars-battlefront-ii-release-date-revealed/

[Kchrpm]

Not coming to Switch. Sorry Keith.
S'ok, it looks interesting enough to pick up for the Bone :up:

Still hoping the single player focused one is on Switch, though.

[Rare White Ape]

Trailer:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALPHHEGlwFo

This title will have a proper single player story where you play mainly as an Imperial special forces character, but switch to other Rebel or Imperial characters at certain points.

Criterion (famous for the Burnout series) was brought on board to help with vehicle-based controls and combat.

[Rare White Ape]

Still hoping the single player focused one is on Switch, though.

I'm still hoping for a release of the fourth Rogue Squadron game that was meant to come out on Wii before Factor 5 imploded.

I just know that the code for the near-complete title exists on a dusty unused server somewhere in Disney's storage warehouses after being scavenged from the offices of LucasArts.

[Rare White Ape]

The SW Battlefron II open beta has been detailed. You won't have to pre-order to get access, but if you do you get two extra days.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-07-10-heres-whats-in-the-star-wars-battlefront-2-beta

EA, via the PlayStation Blog, has announced the details of the Star Wars Battlefront 2 beta, which begins in early October.

The open beta kicks off on 6th October, but you can play two days early by pre-ordering the game. It ends on 9th October.

The beta lets you play Galactic Assault on Naboo. This is a 40-player battle on the streets of Theed. You choose from four trooper classes: Assault, Heavy, Officers and Specialists. Of course there are Star Wars heroes and prequel-era vehicles up for grabs, too.

Also available is multiplayer Starfighter Assault. This lets you take part in a space battle set during the original trilogy era. You pilot various Star Wars ships in an objective-based, multi-stage battle. Expect more on this at Gamescom in August.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 comes out 17th November 2017.

[Rare White Ape]

New Starfighter Assault gameplay trailer:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWHQ77BZDZg

[novicius]

I'm definitely going to participate in the open beta on Oct. 6th. :up:

If I like the action, I'll buy this time around -- the game comes out two weeks after the xXx launches after all. :D


EDIT: There's some rumormongering about 4K @ 60fps... probably with dynamic scaling tho'. :lol:

[GreatScawt]

Some gameplay. They really nail the audio.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpmJVU8hwj8

[Rare White Ape]

Yeah I was heartily impressed with the sound design on their first BF. Everything sounds so full and meaty. That continued with Battlefield 1, but the difference being that most sound effects were sampled from genuine equipment, which is hard to do in SWBF because lightsabers and X-Wing laser cannons don't exist. It might be one of the most underrated things that they do at Digital Illusions.

[Phil_SS]

Yeah, that looks all kinds of awesome. :up:

[Kchrpm]

Hadn't seen this much Rey gameplay before. Count me in.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uyuWkjVOwA

[novicius]

SHIVAKAMINI SOMAKANDARKRAM!!! :lol:

[Alan P]

What in earth is Rey doing on Naboo? They're just taking the piss with this game!

[Rare White Ape]

One of the key points in the game is that they are removing the restriction on who appears where, so you can fight with different characters and squads from different eras. Obviously it's not cannon, that is what the single player story will handle, but the sequel trilogy hero going up against the prequel trilogy villain is deliberate.

The sharp knee examiners at Digital Foundry had a look at the space battle demo from Gamescom and the capture quality is excellent. However they talk about the volumetric lighting effects, but it's in friggin space where there's no air to create haze, and that annoys me :angry: Thanks DICE.

Anyways....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij-RH11A6yQ

[Kchrpm]

YAAAAAAAS


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNGWh_-R1VE

[Alan P]

It looks like it's going to be epic, but with D2 and Shadow of War and this, something is going to have to give.

[novicius]

Day 1. :up:

[21Kid]

I got Battlefront Ultimate for $5, with all the DLC as one of the deal of the weeks. I should probably try it out.

[Rare White Ape]

Good luck, because you won’t find anyone online to play against!

Although you might have better luck than I did, given your location.

[Rare White Ape]

Battlefront beta THIS WEEKEND

Also, GT Sport demo THIS WEEKEND

Fuck

[novicius]

Shiiiit, I need to get my d/l on! :rawk:


EDIT: Everything You Need To Know About The 'Star Wars: Battlefront 2' Beta (https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2017/10/03/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-star-wars-battlefront-2-beta/#58e62e1c77b7)

[novicius]

Ran home at lunch and set up the download.

Should be playin' the Beta tonight with some celebratory tequila if this bike deal goes through. :hard:

[novicius]

So I did get some time to spend playing BFIII and... it's really good in some ways but frustrating in others.

Loot Crates are in full effect, for one. You'll get killed playing against people running different boost cards so that *may* get frustrating if you have to seriously pay-to-play.

I say "may" because if you are good at jockeying the space superiority-fighters then the cards are probably not going to be much help. Where is JP?? He's probably going to seriously clean-up in this game due to his Crimson Skies skills! :lol:

The space battles look great! :up: :up: Plus (and I don't know how much of a selling point this is) but the spaceflight mechanics are kind of deep: while roll is mapped to your throttle stick (weird), you can still pull off some serious moves flying in and around the capital ships, satellites and bases. The best of the best are gonna be harvesting newbs like crazy -- and you guys are above-average drivers so you should be able to adapt.

::

The FPS multiplayer mechanics are probably the best they've ever been for a Battlefront game -- but the game structure feels kinda dated living in a post-Destiny world. I want to be able to roam and then get involved in public events, not be dropped into queue for a Quake III Arena deathmatch. There are objectives and you'd certainly do well to have a 20-man clan to sit on the other team, 99.99% of the time it's a bunch of randos running around. Makes for some chaotic matchstick men action. #shrug

The handling of the B1 Battle Droids is actually not too bad. Far from wooden, you can manouver/jump/dodge/duck with relative ease. Not as slick as a Hunter in Destiny of course but still better than expected. Plus the automated dialog coming out of your rat-snout is pretty funny at times. :up: Haven't tried playing as a Clone Trooper yet.

::

The Heroes are unlockable in both multiplayer and available to use in single-player skills challenges (the single-player game is offline). Downside is that they're kinda limited in the available action. I had this sneaking suspicion from watching vids of this Beta a month ago and now it's confirmed.

Ah well, still fun but feels very simple -- I can't imagine the sorts of frustration PC players are gonna have! They're gonna think it's dumbed-down for the console but nope, this is dumbed-down for... smartphones? :lol:

::

So ultimately I'm still going to get the game. :up:

This is the best looking iteration of a Battlefront game we've ever seen, it's shaping up to be massive with the selection of characters/ships/Heroes/maps. While the FPS side *might* seem kind of shallow at this point (and the Heroes seem really simple), the space combat is *really* spot on.

I mean come on, it's X-Wing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_X-Wing) -- we would've paid money just for that game alone, EA! :lol:

[novicius]

Also, people may have found a way to scam EA out of preorder codes. (https://www.vg247.com/2017/10/05/players-figured-out-a-way-to-get-a-free-star-wars-battlefront-2-beta-key-from-ea-without-pre-ordering/) Give it a try! :D

[Rare White Ape]

I’m trying it now!

It’s asking me to attach a copy of my receipt but I ain’t got one of those does it think I’m a Jedi or something?

[Kchrpm]

The beta won't download for me, says it's not currently available :{ I guess pre-load is too good for this who haven't ordered it yet.

[Rare White Ape]

Yeah I don’t think the above trick will work. It says there will be a 72 hour wait but the open beta phase goes live tonight so it’s not worth it.


The beta won't download for me, says it's not currently available :{ I guess pre-load is too good for this who haven't ordered it yet.

Us PS4 owners will be able to pre-download the GT Sport demo starting today, ahead of it opening up on the 9th.

[Rare White Ape]

The SWBFIIMPOPENBETADEMOLOL is available now on PSN, so check your local blue, green, or orange online storefronts.

[novicius]

Spent all of my time last night in the cockpit -- really the best part of the game. :up: :up:

Down on the D-pad will put you into first-person cockpit view (and right on the D-pad will put you back into 3rd person arcade view). Not nearly as deep as Elite: Dangerous but still a damn good time. Looking forward to other levels.

I do wonder if AI bots are spawning on my tail tho'. I swear I'm just entering the theater when I pick up a god damned bogey sometimes. :smh:

[novicius]

Where is Reynard?? He should be harvesting the tears of thousands by now... :lol:

[Kchrpm]

Welp, glad I played the demo. I was so excited about this, but it's still just the same thing except now with modern AAA tropes. You're in a huge environment getting killed by human opponents you can't see, there's no built in AI cannon fodder factor to help you build points and confidence, you have to build up all of the different character classes through random unlocks, and the Jedi/Sith powers handle oddly and can't all deflect shots.

The problem with getting the actual Battlefield developers to make a Battlefront game is that they make Battlefield: Star Wars instead of Battlefront.

[Rare White Ape]

Well the visuals are pretty, of course. I’m totally in this for the single player this time around.

My preferred play mode is starfighter assault as well. I used to pwn heaps of n00bs in the last game, reliably getting 20 kills (50/50 AI and real players) and no deaths, but I’m really struggling this time. It might be the controls, or the lack of a lock button like last time (oh it was so good) or it could be just me getting used to it again in the chaos.

But again, I’m with Keef for the infantry modes. I just run around trying to not get killed and wondering how the fuck the good players do it. It’s always been that way for me. But I’m kind of missing Walker Assault on Hoth. Man I hope that makes a comeback. It was the best.

[Alan P]

Welp, glad I played the demo. I was so excited about this, but it's still just the same thing except now with modern AAA tropes. You're in a huge environment getting killed by human opponents you can't see, there's no built in AI cannon fodder factor to help you build points and confidence, you have to build up all of the different character classes through random unlocks, and the Jedi/Sith powers handle oddly and can't all deflect shots.

The problem with getting the actual Battlefield developers to make a Battlefront game is that they make Battlefield: Star Wars instead of Battlefront.

Whereas I'd actually like them to make a Star Wars battlefield game. Go all the way, large maps with multiple checkpoints, fully controllable vehicles, squads etc.

[Kchrpm]

Those things could co-exist with what I want out of a Battlefront game. They would likely complement each other, actually. More things to do + more useful/powerful vehicles + more cannon fodder = feeling more powerful.

[novicius]

More things to do + more useful/powerful vehicles + more cannon fodder = feeling more powerful.
Most of what you're looking for is in Destiny 2.

The swordplay is good *enough* -- you can block, swipe, powerful two-handed attacks, various aerial attacks, etc. Yes, it requires ammo but as you flip between weapons and situations you can make it work. Definitely able to feel powerful facing down Fallen with power-spears, Vandals with swords, Hive Knights with smoking evil boneblades, coming up against Big Baddies with melee weapons, etc.

I've had great duels playing single player, low health & desperate. There are times in PvE battles where I go from Auto Rifle to Sidearm and then finally the Sword, refusing to reload until everything is dead. Artificially cinematic? You bet -- but it's great fun.

Just sayin'. #shrug

[Kchrpm]

Most of what you're looking for is in Destiny 2.

The swordplay is good *enough* -- you can block, swipe, powerful two-handed attacks, various aerial attacks, etc. Yes, it requires ammo but as you flip between weapons and situations you can make it work. Definitely able to feel powerful facing down Fallen with power-spears, Vandals with swords, Hive Knights with smoking evil boneblades, coming up against Big Baddies with melee weapons, etc.

I've had great duels playing single player, low health & desperate. There are times in PvE battles where I go from Auto Rifle to Sidearm and then finally the Sword, refusing to reload until everything is dead. Artificially cinematic? You bet -- but it's great fun.

Just sayin'. #shrug

If all you do is read those words specifically, without paying attention to anything else I've said, then yes, Destiny 2 would fit that. On the whole, though, it is incredibly far away from what was Battlefront 2.

Destiny 2 is laughably far away from the experience I want in this context, so far that it's not really even worth me listing all the ways.

[novicius]

Ok. :) #allornothing #nothing

[21Kid]

I tried out the demo and thought it was fun. Perfect, no. But, it was pretty fun nonetheless. :)

[Kchrpm]

Ok. :) #allornothing #nothing

Or Battlefront 2 in custom arcade modes only :) Plus Division's new update is seeming cool, based on a little time in the PTS. I prefer Division's gameplay to Destiny's, and it's already paid for.

[21Kid]

PTS?

[Kchrpm]

Public Test Server. Basically an ongoing beta for content additions and balance tweaks.

[Rare White Ape]

If Destiny wasn’t called Destiny, maybe if they instead called it Star Wars: Destiny, then I’d be all over it like hot runny shit on a scatophiliac’s face.

[novicius]

I prefer Division's gameplay to Destiny's, and it's already paid for.
...which is fine but The Division is a pretty different type of game to D2 & SW:BF2 -- unless maybe you're also playing the FPS action in BF2 in 3rd person as well? I think that's an option.

But it's all good to me. :)

[Kchrpm]

Destiny 2 is very different from Battlefront 2, so I didn't think being similar was a requirement in this situation.

And yes, you can switch to third person in the shooter parts of BF2. It's already so hard to see anyone that I don't think it would be useful in multiplayer.

[novicius]

Both D2 & SW:BF2 are FPS shooters (that switch to 3rd-person POV when using sabers/swords heh) as opposed to The Division's locked 3rd-person POV.

[Rare White Ape]

Good players (not me) can take advantage of 3rd person view in SWBF because it offers a wider field of view, so it does affect the gameplay a fair bit.

[Kchrpm]

Both D2 & SW:BF2 are FPS shooters (that switch to 3rd-person POV when using sabers/swords heh) as opposed to The Division's locked 3rd-person POV.

BF2 can also be played in third person view the whole time. Also, D2 is co-op PvE or 3v3 PvP, whereas BF2 is offline single-player, or up to (I think) 16v16 PvP with some amount of AI filler to keep the numbers about equal. The Division is mostly PvE, with a big PvE/PvP section, and now a couple new PvP modes.

There are huge gameplay loop differences in all of them, and BF2 lets you switch between third and first person on the fly. They're all similar in that they're online-focused shooters with specials/skills that cool down.

[Rare White Ape]

Cool down timers can fuck off. I want to spam an area with grenades like I could in Halo 2. Can’t do that anymore.

[novicius]

BF2 can also be played in third person view the whole time. Also, D2 is co-op PvE or 3v3 PvP, whereas BF2 is offline single-player, or up to (I think) 16v16 PvP with some amount of AI filler to keep the numbers about equal. The Division is mostly PvE, with a big PvE/PvP section, and now a couple new PvP modes.

There are huge gameplay loop differences in all of them, and BF2 lets you switch between third and first person on the fly. They're all similar in that they're online-focused shooters with specials/skills that cool down.
D2 is 4v4 PvP and you've said you were playing BF2 in first-person so the comparison is stronger to D2 than Division.

Neither D2 nor Division show progression and gear-selection like BF2 does, so that comparison is a wash.

No swords in Division whereas the sword-play is both similar and better in D2 as compared to BF2.

BF2 is in the middle between D2 and Division. #shrug

[Kchrpm]

No swords in Division whereas the sword-play is both similar and better in D2 as compared to BF2.

I'll have to look it up, I haven't seen any "sword play" in Destiny 2, only the flying fire flinger.


BF2 is in the middle between D2 and Division. #shrug

I think it's perhaps equidistant in a different direction, but whatevs.

[Kchrpm]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOCF1PIukQo

What the ever-loving fuck. I thought swords were like the Captain America shield and whatever, just a super special that you popped and used for 15 seconds. Why wasn't this in the demo or any trailers at all?

The gameplay still looks dumb, with ammo to deal with and how weak they are (edit: ok, so maybe the enemy that made it look weak is a specific example, he's one or two hitting others), but this is the first I've ever seen of "normal" sword gameplay from either Destiny game.

[novicius]

Swords aren't weak, they're typically one-shot kills in D2.

Hell, I usually try to make them weaker for PvE. :lol:

[Kchrpm]

So whatever he's attacking at 1:50 in the video is just a stationary tank.

[novicius]

That's in the Raid; 99% of the time (100% for me so far) you're not raiding, you're fighting Fallen/Vex and unless they're Yellow Bars, they drop in one shot.

So 99% of the time you can slice & dice through a crowd of them, block blaster shots, jump/slide around, etc. You know, the fun stuff.

[21Kid]

Blocking takes 'ammo' too though. :|

[novicius]

Yeah but it's one shot -- point being, the sword action in D2 is plenty good fun. Leastways I have fun with it. :D


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzfboF6F8lM

[Phil_SS]

Blocking takes 'ammo' too though. :|

If blocking didn't take ammo then you could just block and continue to walk up to a PvE enemy or PvP enemy until you got close enough to hit them. Would make the combat with the swords super cheesy.


Yeah but it's one shot -- point being, the sword action in D2 is plenty good fun. Leastways I have fun with it. :D

And of course in the end he died to Uriel's Gift....:assclown:
________________________

Overall, Swords have been a strong contributor to Destiny 1 game play since the launch of The Taken King in Sept of 2015. From Raze Lighter's massive DPS inflicting Phoenix Uppercut to Bolt Caster's Arc throwing electrical scythe to Dark Drinker's spinning void attack.

D2, so far doesn't have Exotic swords, but the sword play is definitely there. And you have the ability to use them at a much earlier level.

[Kchrpm]

If blocking didn't take ammo then you could just block and continue to walk up to a PvE enemy or PvP enemy until you got close enough to hit them.
Mmmm, talk slower.

[GreatScawt]

:lol:

[Kchrpm]

Sounds good.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IxZd_wo9IA

[21Kid]

Sounds good.

Agreed

[Kchrpm]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHiQcm42Cms

[21Kid]

My son and I have been having fun playing #1. You can play couch co-op on some of the modes. :)

[Kchrpm]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmLh9Lktdsg

[JSGeneral]

Read and be sad. :( EA has ruined the game with loot crates, and free-to-play mechanics on top of a full purchase price game.

http://www.criticalhit.net/gaming/star-wars-battlefront-iis-loot-crates-still-give-paying-players-massive-game-breaking-advantages/

Add to this, all heroes are locked and can only be unlocked individually with about 40 hours of gameplay credits earned TO UNLOCK ONLY ONE HERO! A Star Wars game where Darth Vader, Luke, Leia, Han are all locked away?????? I will not be supporting/purchasing this title.

[MR2 Fan]

EA's comment about this becomes most downvoted in Reddit history

https://kotaku.com/ea-defense-of-star-wars-battlefront-ii-becomes-most-dow-1820396527

[novicius]

I'd say "Boo!" -- but I've got a ton of hours into Destiny 2 which would've been more than enough digital currency to unlock Vader & Co., so... #shrug

[Kchrpm]

The backlash has been loud enough for them to cut the costs of the heroes by 75% (60k heroes are now 15k, 40k heroes are now 10k).

https://kotaku.com/ea-cuts-star-wars-battlefront-ii-hero-costs-after-wides-1820410057

There's also going to be an AMA on Wednesday that I fully expect to be a bloodbath.

[MR2 Fan]

There's also going to be an AMA on Wednesday that I fully expect to be a bloodbath.

I'd better get some popcorn, dis gon be gud!

[novicius]

:popcorn:

[Rare White Ape]

I’m still excited for this game’s single player, but I’m no longer buying at launch out of sheer principle. I made that decision a few weeks ago. I’ll wait for a nice sale, I think.

I’m also weary of the game’s length. Battlefield 1 had quite a short campaign, and it wasn’t worth my $60.

[Rare White Ape]

News just to hand: EA have reduced these unlock costs by 75%.

I’m still dead against pay-as-you-go multiplayer games, and I was almost about to give them props for responding so quickly, but then I realised that this has been a long time coming, and EA (and their AAA publisher ilk) deserve all the hubris they get.

[novicius]

Add to this, all heroes are locked and can only be unlocked individually with about 40 hours of gameplay credits earned TO UNLOCK ONLY ONE HERO! A Star Wars game where Darth Vader, Luke, Leia, Han are all locked away?????? I will not be supporting/purchasing this title.

It takes a few hours of playing the game to unlock Vader. Thats all. Not 40. Not 10. In the 5 and a bit hours I've played I've unlocked Vader and almost have Luke too.

So with my ten hour ea access trial I got enough credits to unlock Luke, Darth Vader, and Chewie. So far all I've done since the early release started was play the campaign and that got me enough credits to unlock Iden and Palpatine. From free crates by playing the game and the crates from the early access edition I have each soldier class at level 7-10 (level is determined by the number and rarity of cards you have for that class).

I don't feel like I even need every card either because most cards don't do something I'm interested in. Getting level 1 (of 4) for each card isn't going to take long and you can already sort of tell how you will play a class making it easy to decide which cards you should upgrade. There isn't really a reason to have all cards at max level since you can only equip 3 at a time anyway.

The credit cooldown is for one gamemode (arcade) which rewards you credits for a win and a loss. They wanted to give some sort of reward to people who play it but they aren't going to reward people that make their own arcade mode that lasts 10 seconds and gives you the minimum of 100 credits every time. He specific with your criticism instead of making it sound like credit cooldown exists everywhere. This is how misinformation spreads.

You can be angry if you want but don't let misinformation and numbers designed to mislead you be a reason for that. And don't spread that misinformation because that's pretty deceitful for people looking for accurate portrayals of the game.
As expected.

[dodint]

Is the Early Access different from the version they gave the press where the credits required to unlock the characters were reduced down to like 10% of what the real game requires?


The copy of the game given to reviewers had the unlocks for Vader and Luke set at 10K, which of course resulted in zero reviewed criticizing the unlock system.

[dodint]

Plus the targets were lowered after release due to the backlash. Not sure where these experiences fit in on the timeline.

[novicius]

Maybe? It's not a dealbreaker to me since I've never been a Hero-chaser.

Maybe it really is 40 hours of gameplay to unlock one 'toon? We'll find out. :)

[dodint]

I hate Star Wars, I'm just interested in the mechanics of it.

Is this any different than the old days of GT where it took like a month to be able to afford an F1 car? I guess the difference is you couldn't just take your wallet out and pay for the F1 car with real money.

[novicius]

Is this any different than the old days of GT where it took like a month to be able to afford an F1 car?
I agree.

But I'm typically ok just taking what a game gives me and seeing if I can make some fun from it while paying as little as possible. No Shark Cards for me! :lol:

[MR2 Fan]

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/313/916/e76.jpg

[dodint]

https://i.imgur.com/5lKYfh6.gifv

"31 Flavors and you choose salt." :lol:

[Phil_SS]

LOL!

And it is much worse than you are making it out to be Carlo. Plain and simple it is pay to win and that is unacceptable. Per Kotaku's review: (https://kotaku.com/star-wars-battlefront-ii-the-kotaku-review-1820477183)


And yet, all of this is irreparably crippled by the game’s progression system. As players level up, they will earn loot crates containing “star cards.” These cards do anything from granting new gadgets, buffing attributes such as health, or augmenting abilities with new effects. These are meant to offer a wide range of customization but they instead upset an already precarious balance. Maybe those sniper shots would have killed my enemy if not for their level three health boost. While these crates can be purchased with in-game credits, they can also be purchased with a premium currency that costs real money. Cards earned through these crates can be equipped immediately and while superior play might allow you to best opponents with higher level cards, there’s nothing stopping a player from buying $100 worth of currency, buying loot crates, and boosting their statistical advantage.

If somebody gave me the game for free I would immediately trade it in for something else. The game needs to be boycotted.

[novicius]

Ok. :popcorn:

[Rare White Ape]

Is the Early Access different from the version they gave the press where the credits required to unlock the characters were reduced down to like 10% of what the real game requires?

If true, it’s pretty misleading. They can always trot out the ‘constant change’ line to defend themselves, but it’s not the best policy.

[Kchrpm]

The AMA happened. This comment goes through and links to various replies by the DICE team, because most of them were downvoted so much that they are not visible.

https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsBattlefront/comments/7d4qft/star_wars_battlefront_ii_dice_developer_ama/dpvakkg/

[Rare White Ape]

I think a lot of them would be downvoted because bandwagon.

The important thing is that the bandwagon exists, and the poor developers are being trotted out to explain away the publisher’s demands.

[novicius]

The AMA happened. This comment goes through and links to various replies by the DICE team, because most of them were downvoted so much that they are not visible.
The Executive Producer (https://www.reddit.com/user/WazDICE) answered six questions before quitting. :lol:

Ah well, since I've been shamed into not getting the game, my Christmas has been ruined. :finger:

[dodint]

Get what you want, its your money.

A lesson you might take to my garage thread. ;)

[novicius]

:snap:

[21Kid]

:lol:

[Rare White Ape]

Well I think we’ve got a worst game of the year contender.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiwRIkRTvms

[GreatScawt]

If they made the Star Cards balanced (more damage negated by less health), this would be much less an issue, until a meta develops and people complain about that.

The game is actually pretty fun but there's just balance tweaks that need to be made. That would be huge for the MP. As far as I understand the SP is exactly what people want... a shooting/slicing gallery in a really pretty Star Wars world.

[novicius]

:popcorn:

[GreatScawt]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[21Kid]

Geez...

[Kchrpm]

Microtransactions have been removed from the game. They will turn later after further running of the earn rate/item cost.

https://kotaku.com/ea-temporarily-removes-microtransactions-from-star-wars-1820528445

[dodint]

"I know this is wrong but I just can't help myself." -EA

[Rare White Ape]

Well… this is unprecedented.

You push and you push and you push, and then the world bites back. This is EA’s response to that bite.

BFIII wasn’t the most egregious example of nickel-and-diming that we’ve ever seen, but it was the most visible, and it came after a run of publishers putting increasingly crappy and increasingly intrusive pay-to-win mechanics or microtransactions in their full price games this year.

NBA2K18
Shadow of War
Forza 7
Destiny 2
CoD WWII
SWBFIII

2017 started with so much promise, and look at what has happened since August. Gamers are rightfully tired of it, and it needs to end.

[Kchrpm]

Will be interesting to see if they bring back microtransactions for the planned cosmetic mods, or just after they think the outrage has cooled down.

[Rare White Ape]

Look at that user review score!

http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/star-wars-battlefront-ii?ref=hp

And yeah, it’s entirely possible that EA will put them back in after the heat dies down. Could cost them millions.

[Drachen596]

There are reports that the EA CEO had a call with Disney just before announcing the microtransactions were (temporarily) going away.

I'd bet they'll be back just after Christmas/Holiday/Winter breaks are over for the school systems.

[Rare White Ape]

Here’s a nice update on things so far thanks to Eurogamer.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-11-17-ea-has-switched-off-star-wars-battlefront-2s-microtransactions

Eurogamer writes the best articles.

[Jason]

There are reports that the EA CEO had a call with Disney just before announcing the microtransactions were (temporarily) going away.

I'd bet they'll be back just after Christmas/Holiday/Winter breaks are over for the school systems.
Yeah, they'll be back after The Last Jedi has been out for a few weeks, probably. Disney just didn't want it damaging their brand during the movie's run. It *is* EA, after all.

[novicius]

Destiny 2
I wouldn't put D2 on this list -- it's not pay-to-win, you get plenty of drops (that have always been random) and you can get to max level without ever stepping foot into the Raid.

Pay-to-dress-up-your-doll maybe... :lol:

[Phil_SS]

What Carlo said, Destiny 2 is not Pay to win.

And the items you can pay for can be obtained through Bright Engrams by just playing the game.

[Rare White Ape]

D2 comes under the “or microtransactions” part of what I was talking about.

It’s in the list because as far as I am aware, it is something that was free in the first game, then carved out of the second game and replaced by a system that was tweaked to encourage people to spend extra money to get what they want.

The main argument against microtransactions and loot boxes is that you’ve already spent $60 on a game, so why are they making you spend more to get a complete experience?

Yes they’re optional, and you might not be interested in purchasing in-game content, but other people are. Enough people spend money on microtransactions that it is extremely profitable for publishers to include them, and once something profitable comes along the publishers will start taking the piss in the hunt for an easy buck.

Another less insidious, but still very worthy argument against microlootransactionboxes is that they can utterly ruin the game playing experience. From the moment you unwrap the plastic and open the case to extract the game disc, they take the focus off the fine art behind game development and wrap it in reminders that you can get this item or do this bit faster if you pay a little bit more money for this little thing here.

It doesn’t matter how benign they are, I’m pretty sure that anyone who cares about video games would prefer that they weren’t there at all.

[Phil_SS]

D2 comes under the “or microtransactions” part of what I was talking about.

It’s in the list because as far as I am aware, it is something that was free in the first game, then carved out of the second game and replaced by a system that was tweaked to encourage people to spend extra money to get what they want.

Except that is untrue. Eververse and microtransactions have been a part of Destiny since right after TTK was launched in the fall of 2015. And Bungie freely admitted the reasons why Eververse was being added to the game. Which was to fund the "Live Team" that was actively supporting and adding content to the game.

In Destiny and Destiny 2, Eververse only supplies cosmetic items. In Destiny 2, you can earn the cosmetic items by playing the game. So in that regard, it is better than Destiny.


It doesn’t matter how benign they are, I’m pretty sure that anyone who cares about video games would prefer that they weren’t there at all.

Totally agree.

[Tom Servo]

Since SW:B2 came out, EA's stock value has gone down by $3.1 billion, sales of the new game are 61% lower than that of the previous, and it still hasn't cracked the top 100 selling games of the year on Amazon. Wonder if the studios will finally start listening?

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/28/eas-day-of-reckoning-is-here-after-star-wars-game-uproar.html

[Jason]

Nope.

[MR2 Fan]

I watched the storymode on youtube and it looks like it was quite well done and just had a DLC with more of the story (haven't finished watching it all yet)....putting together (sort of ) what happens after Return of the Jedi.

I feel bad for the people who were trying hard to make the game work well and have a compelling story worthy of Star Wars, then the execs screw it up for everyone with their greed.

[Alan P]

I watched the storymode on youtube and it looks like it was quite well done and just had a DLC with more of the story (haven't finished watching it all yet)....putting together (sort of ) what happens after Return of the Jedi.

I feel bad for the people who were trying hard to make the game work well and have a compelling story worthy of Star Wars, then the execs screw it up for everyone with their greed.

I suspect those at DICE who were immensely passionate about the game and it's creation were basically TOLD that Loot boxes and Star cards would be in the game whether they liked it, agreed or disagreed, or not. They put their heart and soul and likely 12+ hour days into the game only to have EA, and therefore themselves by association, dragged through the mud. I wouldn't be surprised if they also missed out on many thousands of (insert local currency here) in sales bonuses because of a decision that was made far above them in the EA hierarchy. DICE games always look and sound fantastic, it's s shame what they were forced into doing.

Titanfall 2 has the right idea, as does Overwatch. Cosmetics only in lootboxes. Anything else just splits the player base. Now that Respawn has been bought by EA I worry for Titanfall 3, although the push back on SWBF2 could mean any lootbox plans will be scaled dramatically back. Also with governments looking at Lootboxes and Apple now mandating that the actual chance of receiving items from chargeable lootboxes is now shown, people might spend less than they used to.

[Rare White Ape]

People will be watching Anthem with hawk eyes, too. That game is ripe for RNG gacha loot crap.

[Rare White Ape]

I went against my better judgement and bought SWBFWTFBBQII. It was half price, so I thought fuckit, it’s Star Wars!

The singleplayer campaign is… okay. I’m up to the mission where you arrive on Bespin, and so far it’s a solid but not overly innovative shooter wrapped in that delicious OT-era skin that we all love, the same atmosphere that we tried to appreciate in the previous game before getting our heads blown off over the internet. Though, some of the storyline and dialogue is absolutely cringeworthy.

But here’s the kicker: even singleplayer is lousy with star card upgrade shite. They don’t come in loot boxes, but they are thickly laid on to ensure you become accustomed to them by the time you want to try multiplayer. It’s a bit of an immersion breaking thing, to have the gameplay come to a screeching halt when you find one and have it tell you all about it. It’s as if the game is centered entirely on star cards as progression, rather than other satisfying reasons to carry on like you’d find in Halo or Half-Life 2.

I don’t think I’ll venture too far into arcade mode or multiplayer. It looks like it’ll bore the shitting piss off me.

But, the game is singleplayer and it’s Star Wars. At least this time you can stop to smell the roses and gawk at the awesome attention to detail.

[Rare White Ape]

I finished the campaign, as well as the additional single player story called Resurrection, which takes place a few decades later in the sequel era alongside the battle at Starkiller Base. It gets heaps better! The game ramps up the action and provides just enough of that gratuitous Star Wars Starwarsy-ness for Star Wars fans, culminating in a brilliant scene where you fly a TIE Fighter inside a First Order Star Destroyer just as it’s about to jump into hyperspace. The best character would have to be a Duros (think Blue Man Group) named Shriv, who’s got some cracking banter with Lando and later with Iden.

It’s so unfortunate that such a great story has been buried under a mountain of shit, as it does a very good job of putting you in Star Wars. You start out as an Imperial, but then you follow the rebellion as it mops up the last of the remnants of the Empire following Endor. There so much good stuff here, what would’ve been considered the end of the civil war, which in realistic terms didn’t have a surrender or a truce, but an ongoing series of skirmishes as the Empire got weaker and more desperate. It ends at the Battle of Jakku, a year after Endor, but then carries on into sequel trilogy turf and very neatly segues into the beginning of The Last Jedi.

I’m hoping that EA comes good with their plans for additional SP content, bacause that’s what the galaxy needs.

[21Kid]

Titanfall 2 has the right idea, as does Overwatch. Cosmetics only in lootboxes. Don't forget Destiny 2, or Carlo will be all over you. ;)

[novicius]

:lol:

I think I'm out-of-date in my Destiny 2 info -- you'll have to duel with Phil on this point for the forseeable future. #PoEislyfe

[Rare White Ape]

Excellent news: Respawn Entertainment (famous for Titanfall, which is an awesome shooter) is at the helm of the next major SW game to come out of EA.

There are no details on what it will be yet, other than that it'll be an action adventure set to release sometime by fiscal end of 2020, so roughly March of that year, and might well be singleplayer focused.

[novicius]

:up: :up:

[Kchrpm]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2018/03/16/ea-details-new-progression-system-for-battlefront-ii.aspx

Launching March 21


The most fundamental change is that progression is now linear, meaning that star cards and all gameplay-impacting items are now earned as set rewards for leveling up. Experience points are doled out for characters, classes, and ships that give you skill points at level ups to unlock or upgrade star cards.

Loot boxes, or crates in the Battlefront II vernacular, no longer contain star cards at all and can only be earned through daily login bonuses, milestones, and timed challenges. Cosmetic items like emotes and victory poses can still be gotten through crates, but anything gameplay-related is off the table.

Starting next month, cosmetic outfits can be purchased through in-game credits or the virtual currency crystals.

[Rare White Ape]

Sweet I might actually play online at some point.

[Rare White Ape]

^ following on from this…

I actually did a thing yesterday and played some multiplayer. I chose to join a few star fighter assault matches, and you know what? It’s okay. It’s a solid and competent online game.

However, it’s still ruined by star cards and overly complex menus. The star cards ruined it because I was getting eaten by players with stat-boosting cards equipped, and the menus ruined it because a) I couldn’t figure out if I could equip them while in-game or in-lobby and b) I didn’t want to exit the game just to go looking for the cards menu.

I’ve still got about 12 loot crates I’ve yet to open and I really couldn’t be fucked opening them :lol: