Star Wars Battlefront II (No, the newer one) Catch-All

Middcore wrote:

Here's the thing though, if EA did lose the Star Wars license, who would get it instead (assuming it would still be exclusive)?

Blizzard!!! Could you imagine? But no. That would be too perfect.

Ubisoft is more than capable. Maybe a Bethesda studio? Hmm. Not sure about that one.

Seriously though. Blizzard. Or Ubisoft.

I think it definitely stays an exclusive license. Whoring the franchise out to anybody and everybody to make a flood of games in every conceivable genre was basically the strategy for Video Games pre-Disney, it peaked during the years the prequel trilogy was coming out and then tapered off but I think if the mouse wanted that they would have just let it continue instead of making the exclusive EA deal in the first place. They don't want a half dozen Star Wars games of varying production values and quality coming out each year, but I also can't imagine they're happy with two games in six years and decidedly mixed reviews either. There's going to be a Star Wars movie coming out pretty much yearly or almost yearly for the foreseeable future it looks like and I think what would make Disney the happiest is one big, hyped, AAA Star Wars game coming out each year.

Ubisoft is European. I can't explain why I think that would matter to Disney but I think it would.

Bethesda/Zenimax is actually not quite big enough I feel like? (Also privately held.)

I think it would have to be ActiBlizz just because I can't see anybody else who seems plausible.

RawkGWJ wrote:
Middcore wrote:

Here's the thing though, if EA did lose the Star Wars license, who would get it instead (assuming it would still be exclusive)?

Blizzard!!! Could you imagine? But no. That would be too perfect.

Ubisoft is more than capable. Maybe a Bethesda studio? Hmm. Not sure about that one.

Seriously though. Blizzard. Or Ubisoft.

Actually rumours are already going around for a bit now...

https://www.gamezone.com/news/rumor-...

I read that article. Here’s the first paragraph:

Rumor: Lucasfilm allegedly speaking to Ubisoft and Activision for Star Wars games
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EA has been struggling to be loved in the public eye for several years now. After they gained the license for Star Wars in 2013, fans hoped we’d get multiple high-quality games from the studio but alas we’ve only gotten two games that were lackluster and controversial.

So I totally disagree with them saying that SW:BF is a lackluster game. That game has loads of luster. If they put out a Battle Royal update, that’s all I would ever play. The game is freeking awesome.

What sucks about it is the P2W loot crates, the antiquated leveling system, and the negative synergy of those two things.

At the end of that article, they admit that the whole thing is an unsubstantiated rumor from an unreliable source. That doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Just not very likely. Still, it’s totally plausible.

I'm amazed that EA has gone through every single revenue model for this game.

BTW, just had this show up in my inbox from EA:

Revamped Progression is Coming Soon

RawkGWJ wrote:

I read that article. Here’s the first paragraph:

Rumor: Lucasfilm allegedly speaking to Ubisoft and Activision for Star Wars games
-
EA has been struggling to be loved in the public eye for several years now. After they gained the license for Star Wars in 2013, fans hoped we’d get multiple high-quality games from the studio but alas we’ve only gotten two games that were lackluster and controversial.

So I totally disagree with them saying that SW:BF is a lackluster game. That game has loads of luster. If they put out a Battle Royal update, that’s all I would ever play. The game is freeking awesome.

What sucks about it is the P2W loot crates, the antiquated leveling system, and the negative synergy of those two things.

At the end of that article, they admit that the whole thing is an unsubstantiated rumor from an unreliable source. That doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Just not very likely. Still, it’s totally plausible.

I didn't read it. Just grabbed the first one i saw. I've been seeing bunch of sites with same blurb as well as youtube posts with that heading so knew it's being discussed somewhere.

I agree that it is far from lackluster.

It’s a strange thing loot boxes. Everyone seems to loath them and the Internet was on fire over this game. But when you look at the profits from them it seems this is the most logical move for games to embrace to make money.

Balance is the key. It's undeniable, from a publisher point of view, that loot boxes are the way to go but they've got to do it without pissing of a large number of their customers. SW:BF2's system was way over on the unacceptably intrusive/exploitative side of things for me. In the long run publishers are better of having a system that makes less money but that is more sustainable long term and that preserves players good will.

TheGameguru wrote:

It’s a strange thing loot boxes. Everyone seems to loath them and the Internet was on fire over this game. But when you look at the profits from them it seems this is the most logical move for games to embrace to make money.

I have no problem with cosmetic item loot boxes (I've spent a small fortune in Poe) , hiding game play abilities or functions behind a pay wall is problematic for me.

TheGameguru wrote:

It’s a strange thing loot boxes. Everyone seems to loath them and the Internet was on fire over this game. But when you look at the profits from them it seems this is the most logical move for games to embrace to make money.

Yes.

Higgledy wrote:

Balance is the key. It's undeniable, from a publisher point of view, that loot boxes are the way to go but they've got to do it without pissing of a large number of their customers. SW:BF2's system was way over on the unacceptably intrusive/exploitative side of things for me. In the long run publishers are better of having a system that makes less money but that is more sustainable long term and that preserves players good will.

Also yes.

I would honestly love to see these various governmental bodies who are investigating loot boxes classify them as gambling and ban them, even if they are cosmetic. I suppose a full discussion of the effects and politics of loot boxes is outside the scope of this thread, though.

Updated progression rolled out on March 21st (emphasis mine):

Since release, we've been hard at work making changes based on your feedback to create a better game for all our players. Today, we're happy to announce that the Star Wars™ Battlefront™ II Progression update, which includes a complete re-design of the in-game progression system, will begin rolling out on March 21st. There are also some additional changes coming to the cosmetics in the game, but we'll get to that in a bit...

With this update, progression is now linear. Star Cards, or any other item impacting gameplay, will only be earned through gameplay and will not be available for purchase. Instead, you’ll earn experience points for the classes, hero characters, and ships that you choose to play in multiplayer. If you earn enough experience points to gain a level for that unit, you'll receive one Skill Point that can be used to unlock or upgrade the eligible Star Card you'd like to equip.

You'll keep everything you’ve already earned and unlocked. You will keep all of the Star Cards, heroes, weapons, or anything else you have already earned. What you have earned will still be available to use with this update regardless of how much or little progress you have already made.

Crates no longer include Star Cards and cannot be purchased. Crates are earned by logging in daily, completing Milestones, and through timed challenges. Inside of these crates, you'll find Credits or cosmetic items, such as emotes or victory poses, but nothing that impacts gameplay.

Starting in April, you’ll be able to get appearances directly through in-game Credits or Crystals. The first new appearances are coming soon, meaning you'll be able to grab new looks for your heroes and troopers directly by using either Credits (earned in-game) or Crystals (available to purchase in-game and through first-party stores). If you’ve ever dreamed of being a part of the Resistance as a Rodian, your chance is right around the corner.

These changes are a major step as we continue to improve the core of the game and add new content. And there’s a lot more to come. In addition to continued balance patches, we will also add a number of modes to Star Wars Battlefront II in the coming months, offering several standout, brand-new ways to play. Some of these, like the recently released limited-time Jetpack Cargo, are radically different than anything you've experienced in the game before, and we're excited to surprise you with what we have planned.

The Star Wars Battlefront II Progression Update releases on March 21, with more content rolling out in the following weeks. We're truly excited for the future of the game, and we would be honored if you would join us on this journey.

I’m waist high into the current Fortnight season. I bought the battle pass. When the season is over, in a couple of weeks, I’m switching back to SW:BF for a little while.

SW:BF has the most incredible graphics. When I watch my son play, I’m able to appreciate the amazing visuals. When I’m in the heat of battle all I’m focused on is winning.

Picked this up in the recent X1X sale and it is very pretty. Fun to be back dropping fools with a blaster.

So this is currently something like $13.99 on Origin. For someone who probably wouldn't put much time into multiplayer, is the campaign good enough to justify that price?

billt721 wrote:

So this is currently something like $13.99 on Origin. For someone who probably wouldn't put much time into multiplayer, is the campaign good enough to justify that price?

I don't know, but another option to get it kinda cheap is by getting the Origin Access basic subscription. It's £20/yr here in UK, so I would imagine about $25? You get 10 hours of Battlefront 2, more than enough to finish the campaign and try a bit of multiplayer, and you get loads of other 10 hour trials and full games too. It's been quite good for me because I regularly spend big bucks on triple AAA games and end up playing them for less than 10 hours anyway.

The campaign is good, but it’s not special. It’s your run of the mill over the shoulder shoot em up. But with a Star Wars skin.

I played through the first one, but never touched the second one.

Bumping the thread to let people know that the game is on sale on Origin for $4.50 until Jan 11. This had fallen completely off my radar after the whole lootbox fiasco, but at that price, plus since the progression has been revamped to not cost money to get things, it might almost be worth considering. Has anyone spent much time with it since the game was fixed?

I actually picked it up recently and have been having a surprisingly good time. I'm not good, but I've also never been the worst on my team. And in the games I've played, other players have played the objectives far more than I expected they would (I guess because you can rack up scoring by playing the objectives?), which has made it enjoyable even when I'm getting killed all the time.

Note that this is the first MP shooter I've played since ... ever? So take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

I've been playing on PS4 almost daily (with a few hiatuses) since it came out. Progression mechanisms are much improved, and it's generally a whole lot of fun. There's always the occasional twit who stops to open fire on the nearest Ewok or tauntaun (and who can blame them?), but the objective-oriented modes generally go well. (I don't even bother with the team deathmatch mode, aka Blast, unless there's a daily objective for playing it a few times.) There's never trouble finding games.

Plus, it scratches my Star Wars itch, and it's also my favorite implementation of ship-to-ship Star Wars combat since the X-Wing/TIE Fighter games, much better than the previous Battlefront (flying air support for ground battles is fun too). I frequently place in the top 3 in Starfighter Assault, which is a lot better than I do in the ground-based modes.

I'd say this is a great moment to jump in. Community is active, no paid DLC to fragment the playerbase, and while you have to pay in-game currency to unlock a few of the recently-added heroes and hero ships, I think all the original ones are unlocked by default at this point.

On PC at least (and this could be due to me being in Hawaii so it's pretty late in the mainland when I get around to firing it up), the only mode I can ever get a game in is Galactic Assault. Nobody seems to be playing anything else and it's a real bummer that EA doesn't allow some of the other modes to be played with bots. Like, I doubt I'd spend much time playing Ewok Hunt multiplayer, but I'd at least like to try it to see what it's all about.

I have no issue finding matches on any of the modes on PS4.

Granted, I haven't tried Ewok since it was introduced and have little interest in ever playing it again.

Sounds like it's worth a four and some change, then. The old Battlefront 2 is still my most played game on steam, so I'd be down for some more Star Wars action.

EDIT: That 72GB download is ridiculous.

Thanks for posting the sale. I had thought the door had closed on Battlefront 2, but $9 so both my son and I could play sounds about right.

I ended up really enjoying the single player campaign. I loved the various call-backs to the movies and Rebels. I thought it was awesome to see my beloved Imperial Raider from the X-Wing miniatures game get so much love.

The one thing that really bothered me was that they essentially white-washed Iden. Actually, they literally white-washed her. The character was voiced by and had the likeness of Janina Gavankar (who will always be Shiva from The League to me). Except that the character's skin tone was many shades lighter than the actress. It wouldn't bother me as much if they had a totally different look for the character but Iden looks exactly like Janina Gavankar, except white.

I wish they essentially made a Star Wars Battlefield where you can use vehicles to move through terrain and cap points via Conquest mode etc. Even the older Battlefront titles had more vehicle freedom and variety. The hallway linear shooting of this one is tiresome which is the majority of maps and modes. The new Genosis map looks intriguing though.

I had absolutely no interest in this game at all after the demo and all the lootbox shenanigans, until I read that they are introducing something very much like Titan mode from Battlefield 2142.

Now, all of a sudden, I'm seriously tempted.

I picked this up during the recent sale to try out on my new PC. Multiplayer is fun, but can really be an exercise in frustration. As a newbie player I’m not sure how I’m supposed to hold my own. Almost every single person that kills me is equipped with epic star cards across the board. I’ve also noticed that people really seem to like this tiny pistol, it fires really fast and hits very hard. Using my newbie gun against that is insane. I hit one guy three times in the head and he was still able to drop me from full health to dead before I could finish him off. I’ll probably stick with single player for the time being since multi seems horribly unbalanced for new players. Over all it feels about right for 6 bucks. Graphics are incredible, but it really makes me long for the days of a good single player LucasArts Star Wars game. Something like Jedi Knight would be amazing on this engine.

Yeah totally agree Glycerine. These games really punish you for not being in on day 1, but the spectacle is very impressive and makes it worth dying over and over for a few hours.

The irony is that the lootbox setup would've allowed you to end up with some higher level cards early on, by luck. Instead you're now at a looooooong disadvantage until you level up a lot by dying a lot.

I hate modern MP games and the progression systems. They're a waste of time, just give everyone everything from the start. That doesn't generate revenue though.

garion333 wrote:

The irony is that the lootbox setup would've allowed you to end up with some higher level cards early on, by luck. Instead you're now at a looooooong disadvantage until you level up a lot by dying a lot.

Is there a shooter where you aren't supposed to die a lot?