Star Wars: Battlefront

What's not to love?

My favorite part of Battlefront is simply getting in iconic Star Wars vehicles be they OT or PT and blasting the heck out of bots. There's something empowering about all the weaponry. Another favorite of mine was rolling around as a Destroyer Droid only pop up and setup shot at a capture point.

I hope DICE realizes why Battlefront was beloved as much as it was and don't make it to realistic. It should definitely be a bit more arcade friendly. What I mean by that is not so simulation based where flying a helicopter literally takes practice. Pick up and play should be easy enough for the average gamer and mastering it takes a lot more time.

DICE was never big on bots in Battlefield so I hope they don't gloss over that for Front. Being able to play offline against much less hardcore opponents goes back to the empowering feeling I was talking about. In a real online game it's not to often you'll see five or six players running out in the open. Bots though? Oh yeah... it's AT-ST feeding time.

What I am excited for with DICE at the helm? Graphics. I've been dying to see Star Wars in full blown graphics power for a while now. Force unleashed wasn't vehicle focused. So I haven't gotten to see Star Wars hardware since Rogue Squadron! Already in the early renders DICE is showing the love. Even the animations of the AT-ST's walk are so perfect.

I'll leave with this... I think they should channel more Bad Company than Battlefield as it was closer in nature to Front. Either way I'm excited for ANY Star Wars games. Here's hoping for a dedicated flight game and an RTS at some point.

 

Something I'd like to see is the rebel and imperial sides not to be the same except with different skins. Really enjoyed the earlier versions, but would've liked to see rebels going for ambush tactics rather than all out warfare. Rebel tanks always look a bit daft...

 

I am so looking forward to this game. Even if EA goes totally Battlefield with it, such as DLC galore. My wallet is unfortunately completely in their hands.

I am hoping for even larger battles than Battlefield though. 128v128 or something as grand. Perhaps with Space and Planet combat in the same map. However, that is a long shot to hope for.

Customization is most likely going to be quite high knowing DICE so we should hopefully see some interesting variety. It's unlikely they'll unbalance the teams though so I at least hope they give advantages and disadvantages to both sides. You're going to be forced to play one or the other so it's not like you're always going to be playing the Rebel underdogs.

 

It's not so much an imbalance I'm hoping for, more an acknowledgement that the different sides use different tactics. The Empire can throw troops into a battle, the Alliance has to work smarter...

 

I can get behind each faction having a unique style. Counter-strike is a good example of different weapons sets per team. They are roughly equivalents but they aren't the same. Such a simple thing as the AK having more recoil with increased damage versus the M4 having better recoil and less damage.

Again just spit balling but the rebels could have more trickery weapons like mines or timed explosives. Basically area denial attacks. Maybe even a tendency for anti-armor weapons. While the imperial could be more offensive and maybe more vehicle options.

In the end though I want what's fun for both sides more than anything. I'd hate to be bummed being a rebel all the time. My dream of dreams is that they'd include four factions. Rebels, Techno Union, Republic and Empire. Or they could be clever in map designs and have the rebels fighting in an old Techno Union factory. Where they can activate the battle droids against he Empire.

 

I wasn't sure I should create an entirely new thread for this so I'll just put this here. I figure the mods will move it if they think it's a good idea.

So I'm sure by now any fans of Battlefront have seen this official E3 trailer debuting months ago. Still it's by far the most media we've gotten on it for now. With the promise of spring 2015 being the next time we'll get our next in depth look. Far far away indeed

So I figured why not do a break down. It's not a lot to go on so don't expect a ton of secrets. It seems like DICE was really just trying to let us know it's well under way. I did see a few tidbits that were interesting though. Again this is just a fluff piece. If you're like me any excuse to talk or read about the things you love is reason enough.

10 seconds: Opening shot we've got twin suns!
13 seconds: A probe droid cameo
15 to 16 seconds: They sneak in what could be a cool little clue on the center desk monitor. It's a figure mostly dress in black with a lightsaber it's brief but definitely some kind of concept art. Which we will see on a lot of monitors in the background.
19 seconds: Now on the desk on the right we see a 3D render of what appears to be a blaster rifle. What kind I can't tell but either way it's a different gun than the DL-44 we see later. Also a mouse droid drives by that desk.
28 to 30 seconds: is a good example of the concept art they leave up on their monitors. Nothing new.
35 to 50 seconds: Visiting the Lucas Archive. They clearly are focusing on the OT for this game.
52: It's alive!
1:09: Finally some in-engine footage. Important note, graphics can vary pretty drastically from this. Normally they are reduced. However since it's in engine I suspect it wont be to far off from this on PC. Not that it needs to be said but... Endor.
1:12: Hoth and Snowspeeder! Go Frostbite go!
1:18: Speculation time. Now this could very easily be a test environment but man is it expansive. It'd be hard to have a battlefield big enough to properly use an AT-AT but I'd say this certainly seems capable. AT-AT's aren't confirmed but they very nearly are. Heavily featured in the teaser and mentioned by Design Director Niklas Fegraeus.
1:24: The DL-44. If you go back and compare to the other weapon render they are clearly different.
1:28: This could be a stretch. There is an interesting screen behind the guys head. A desert environment?
1:30: For me this is the money shot! Big Stormtrooper fan. The detail is insane. Again it may not end up looking like that but I feel DICE will deliver a beautifully faithful Star Wars game.
1:32: Pretty sure that's an animation studio program. Working on making that trooper look good while running. Anyone else more keen on those things feel free to correct!
1:33: A very quick pass over from the trooper shows two employees going to town with lightsabers. Blink and you'll miss it!
1:35: Chicken Walkers! Ahem. AT-STs! Now this is some outstanding animations. Really captures the feel.
1:38: Minor nerd moment. I had no idea Frostbite's engine had such a similar scripting setup as Unreal 4. Referring to speeder bike on the right monitor.
1:41: And the Endor speeder bike escape carries us to the end. Neat little attention to details like foliage reacting to laser blasts and oldschool smoke plumes practically lifted from the OT. Also if you happen to freeze frame any of the lasers they look beautiful.

Now onto the cool tidbits talked about directly from the mouths of DICE.

DICE Design Director Niklas Fegraeus gives a quick update on Star Wars Battlefront.

"I grew up with Star Wars, watching the classic movies over and over and collecting all the toys I could afford. Since then, like most of our team here at DICE Stockholm, I've never really left this fantastic universe.
A little over a year ago, we learned that we had the amazing opportunity to work on a Star Wars game. I'll never forget the moment when this was officially unveiled at our company meeting with the entire studio present – you could literally touch and feel the excitement in the room. This is the spirit I feel from the team every day, whether we're trying out the AT-AT on Hoth or racing speeder bikes through the forests of Endor.

Almost 40 years ago, George Lucas invited us to a life-changing adventure. Now, we at DICE are hard at work creating the best Star Wars shooter of all time, to carry that legacy into the future with Star Wars Battlefront. We're building the game that we as fans want to play. For us, this is just the beginning of a new adventure, and we are looking forward to showing you more in the spring of 2015."

I bring this up because he clearly says they are trying out (read testing) AT-ATs. Another message on the official site reads.

Fight in epic Star Wars battles on iconic planets and rise through the ranks playing as the heroic Rebellion or the evil galactic Empire.
Whether fighting through blaster-wielding troops, or piloting your favorite Star Wars combat vehicles like snowspeeders, speeder bikes, and AT–ST's – Star Wars Battlefront puts you at the center of the galactic conflict!

So there ya have it. Hope you enjoyed this little recap of what we currently know. Feel free to tear it apart or let me know anything I missed!

 

Despite my eternal love for RPG styled games, I had the longest sessions with Battlefront games.
They made the most sense for SW universe, recreating epic battles!! I hope DICE can do it justice
and not turn it into another Battlefield with SW skin.

-Make sure the third person perspective comes back, let us fully customize our favorite storm trooper, rebel, or jedi!
-Hire NAMCO to handle light saber duels, turn those into fully fledged fighting game matches in the middle of war zone.
-Give us a great single player campaign with action set pieces and dramatic story to follow this time around.
-Online persistent planets where the faction wars are ongoing.
-

 

Do you guys like the original battlefront 1 or 2 better?

I enjoy the mechanics and maps and gameplay of the 1st best, but it was neat to play as jedi/sith in the 2nd.

 

I've scoured the web, but it still looks like BF from DICE will be only released on new gen consoles. Does anybody know any different? I don't really want (or can afford) to upgrade to an Xbox One / PS4. Any news would be most appreciated.

 

Thanks Pomojema..I figured it'll be out for PC , but I was hoping it'd be out for the xbox 360 TBH. Also, what do you mean by "So long as you don't buy it on Origin" please?

 

Ah..I see. It's the difference between buying a real in your hands CD copy, compared with a digital DL?

 

Thanks very much for the advice Pomojema.

 

Anyone hear anything about a Star Wars game on Wii U? That's the system I have, other than my internet-less PC.