Gaming Star Wars: Battlefront (2015) & Battlefront 2 (2017) [Mod Approved]

Last I checked, the highest retail price for the game is about $49.99 on Newegg. All other retailers have it for $40 or less.

 

I believe she meant the DLC. Though I may be mistaken.

 

I did.

I actually do still play regularly, but I'm pretty cynical about EA's business model.

 

I don't blame you. Their whole DLC model is reprehensible. That said of course I purchased a season pass because Star Wars.

On a side note, have you considered marketing gum re-flavoriser squirts? Because that may be a million dollar idea right there.

 

I hate to double post after myself, so my apologies for that. But I could not let it go without being said that EA/DICE really just dropped the ball once again where Battlefront is concerned.

Today is May 4th, and for SW fans it's a day to celebrate our beloved franchise. You would think these guys would join in on the festivities and do something big. Something in the spirit of SW, show that they are on board with us fans who trusted them and gave them money upfront for a game we had never played but had high hopes for.

But instead we get free credits and a single Star Card.

Oh, and people who have not purchased the game get to play for free. JOY! So basically they co-opted May the 4th as an opportunity to sell their broken game to more people.

It goes without saying that their big May patch yesterday was an absolute failure. Most of the bugs still exist, and yet they are still actively trying to sell this game with it's flaws to more people. All the while ignoring the existing player base like a red headed step child.

"Here take your free credits kid and stop bothering us! We have more games to sell"

What a missed opportunity to connect with fans of the game. What a missed opportunity to roll out something special and go with the momentum of May 4th. What a missed opportunity to show us that they are not just a cold corporate machine, but instead are a trusted steward of our beloved franchise.

May EA/DICE and all the apologists who defend their practices burn in lava lakes of Mustafar for 1000 generations.

 

It wouldn't have been much, but I was expecting something like a double credits/points weekend at the very least. Maybe a small surprise map/mode or something like that. It's the annual Star Wars Day after all.

 

Their exact words:

"Specific for May the 4th - In celebration of Star Wars™ Day we have cool activities planned that we’ll announce soon."

So are they calling free credits and a star card, "cool activities?"

 

Mhm. The biggest problem that I have with them is that "we'll announce soon" part. It wouldn't be an issue if they did. I can take lack of content, even lacklustre content, if you keep me informed of what the situation is. That way there is no misunderstanding.

This was very interesting to me... They're consistently bad at communicating with their playerbase. Information comes often late, if it does at all, and much of that is worded poorly. Like here, "cool activities". Something new to do, since you wouldn't advertise what people are already doing as a cool activity that requires special announcement. So it must be something new to do. The cards and credits aren't activities. They're gifts, presents. (And I like presents, so I'm okay with that, it's just not what was promised by my understanding, which leaves me waiting for what they said would come.)

Maybe I am being overly anal about the phrasing of these communications, but being bad at interacting with the playerbase is something that they are doing all the time. 4 Heroes and Villains added. Does it mean four for each side, or four altogether, thus 2 and 2? And on and on. It took until the release of the first two characters for them to let us know how it was going to be. It's like they haven't recruited a community manager at all. For an online game that is receiving updates and extra content periodically, it's an odd thing not to have one that keeps the players in the loop. Something that I hope they have noticed as well and mean to change, but I'm not exactly hopeful as this has been going on since the beginning.

 

No my friend, you are not being overly anal at all. This is an expensive AAA game, even more so if you purchased a season pass. Their lackluster communication and what seems to be outright disinformation in some cases is just not acceptable.

 

I just thought of something that's worse than EA/DICE not offering more and fixing all the issues with Battlefront for their 5/4 update: Not having a game to play, period.

 

And I disagree.

Because the fact is had EA not taken on the franchise someone else would have. And quite frankly I wish another developer had.

 

You really think that if EA hadn't taken it on, another one would have coincidentally the same time?

 

With the Disney acquisition of the franchise and plans for never ending movies, not to mention the fact that there were games such as 1313 already in development, I'd happily bet money that there would be new SW game right now.

 

Speak of the devil - EA just announced they're working on a 3rd person shooter. Could be something entirely different or it could be built upon 1313. Both Disney and Kennedy previously said they were interested in the ideas being worked on before the overhaul. No real meat in the article other than - it's happening.

http://www.ea.com/news/the-force-is-strong-with-respawn-entertainment

As for May the 4th, I wasn't expecting much from Battlefront and I'm not surprised. Double XP would be nice but I don't really need it. Free map would be nice but that wasn't promised either. They just said activities. Logging in is I guess an activity. Not a great one but yeah. Working towards unlocking new cards is another so so activity. People set their expectations up too high.

Main thing that surprised me was there was no Bespin tease. Would've been good.

 

I'm not sure what else was fixed, but you can use jump pack with shield again.

 

I just want to jump in here and say (regarding Battlefront II, as I don't know where else to put this) that some of the newer BF2 mods/maps have really just been blowing me away. Great stuff. Getting it for the PC and adding that material was one of the best decisions I've made, Star Wars related.

 

Which maps?

 

I unlocked the Bacta Bomb, it's pretty fun and should offer a few alternate strategy options. Being able to heal allies while they complete an objective is a cool idea.

 

Well, the new Jakku night map (recreation of opening battle of TFA) really has blown me away, and I am loving the Tatooine at War map. I admit some of the older maps have really won me over too... Space Battle of Endor and Theed Hangar Battle. Overall I've just been very impressed with my experience so far, and I know there's still good stuff I've yet to get to.

 

Links?

 

It's worth noting that in order to play these new maps/mods, I believe the Patch 1.3 r129 is needed first. (here)

• Jakku
• Tatooine At War (ground to sky to space)
• Space Battle of Endor (which is also part of the Conversion Pack 2.2 mod pack, I think, which is great and is here (also has KOTOR content))
• Theed Hangar (hero assault is Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul over the Duel of the Fates setting)

That's just a small selection of the great world of BF2 maps/mods that I have just recently waded into. Gotta say, I'm also loving Corellia: Coronet City, which is an older map, but it checks out...

If anyone needs help finding out how to add mods/maps, there are some good guides that exist, including this.

 

I wish they did something a bit more similar to destiny's pvp where the maps had different times of day. I know they do that in different modes but it'd be cool to have that variety in each mode.

Off topic - if you're looking for a shooter with a bit more depth I highly recommend trying out the Overwatch beta. I'm really really enjoying it and the variety of characters and strategies.

 

Not just heal enemies, but add an extra +30 to +50 to your own health if you are already full.

The reason I say plus 30 or 50 is that I've seen people state both. One of the mods at the BF forum said it's 50, but I'm not 100% sure he's correct. The consensus right now seems to be 30. Either way, I spammed that thing all round playing WA, seems to work pretty darn good. Especially paired with Beserker.

 

That is awesome! I need to hang out on the BF forum. Do you have to be in the cloud to get the bonus, or does it apply when you hit a teammate?

 

I'm still learning myself. That said it appears you need to be in the cloud itself. Or run though it as it hits. The blue mist seems to last a second.

I will say I noticed last night every one on the battlefield seemed to have a blue glow lol. This thing is clearly being spammed all over the place.

Which I have mixed feelings about. I feel like the more gimmicks they introduce, the more the dynamics of the game change, and the further from SW this game goes.

p.s. in my previous post I meant to type, "Not just heal allies, but add an extra +30 to +50 to your own health if you are already full." I had accidentally replaced allies with enemies.