A/V No Bigger Luke Here- Massive Star Wars Video Game - Star Wars Outlaws!

Video on world building Toshara:



Overall, very cool world design here - the physical design, the blending of the grounded and the fantastical, the wildlife, the cities, the way the wind ties everything together for both world building and gameplay.

And yeah, it is refreshing to get a new material in star wars that isn't a super valuable macguffin (though I think the stuff could probably make good jewelry)

Though as someone whose PHD focused on piracy, it was a bit amusing that they describe the moon as being based on the African savanna and then shortly later on say it is pirate and treasure hunting themed - there are a lot of places in the world associated with piracy, I don't think the savanna is one of them. But nitpicks aside, I do like the emphasis on spaceship wrecks here, as I always like the idea of being a scavenger or salvager in star wars.

And...well, to be honest, I am a little annoyed and worried that they keep showing the same bits of footage for the most part in these preview materials, given the game is only a little over a month from release.

Finally, I noticed some of the more recent worlds have said 5 worlds while earlier ones said 4. Safe to assume that the fifth is Cantonica, but will it be as open as the others or just a mission only world?

 

Put down for preorder at GameStop for Gold Edition the good thing about ordering on site is you can make deposit payments so don't have to pay the whole thing at once!

 

Been quite a flurry of info this week

Most of it has been IGN videos with mostly recycled footage and a few tidbits of new info per video. Most notable is a ten minute video of new gameplay footage of Kay retrieving a sarlacc tooth from a dead sarlacc, which has some framerate issues that worried a fair number of people on the net:


This video from the Ubisoft channel has a lot of new footage and does a better job of distinguishing the various underworld factions. Some interesting concept art suggests there are around 4 types of troops per syndicate.


There is also some leaked footage floating about, and while I am not sure how much I can even talk about that here, they actually look a lot better than the official previews, with smoother gameplay and some interesting details.

 

Seems like Malakili is a trendsetter in terms of outfit for "beastmaster" troops.

Wonder if Crimson Dawn soldiers' uniforms from Vader comics were based on early concepts for this game, and it is why their helmets look differently.

 

Oh, I didn't even notice the Malakili thing, good eye.

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing - though maybe they just wanted something a bit more streamlined and fancy looking. Outfit otherwise looks very similar, so there has to be some connection.

Hmmm...not sure which mask I like better with the outfit, both are pretty cool.

 

And in both cases Nightsisters outfits' influence is noticeable.

 

....I also failed to notice that, but once you pointed that out, it seemed obvious. And pretty logical given Maul's role in the organization (even if one would expect more nightbrother stuff - and on that note I do wonder if there will be a reconcillation between the portrayal of the nightbrothers in Jedi Fallen Order and Maul's continued use of Dathomir as a base in Solo and Rebels given that Son of Dathomir showed the nightbrothers as part of Maul's shadow collective but I suppose that is a whole other thing in the long run).

And now that I think about it, the outfits also remind me of some of the Kohoun Assassin outfits, and that group also had some nightsister influence:



Notably their leader deathstick is of nightsister descent and was seen working for Crimson Dawn, though as a solo agent...hmmmm...

Kouhun is supposed to be newer than its reputation suggests but I don't think it is brand new. Still, I could see some ex-Crimson Dawn agents and assassins that survived its fall joining Kouhun afterwards.

I wonder how much of this is intentional, but it is fun to speculate on in any case.

 

When Maul was in command, Crimson Dawn was publicly loyal towards the Empire, not the best time for Dathomirian aesthetics. And it seems like Qi'ra leaned more on the Nightsisters traditions, like organization's leadership becoming all-female.

Maybe Insurgency Rising will confirm this.

Apart from red uniforms - I very like that Hylobon Enforcers' armor is used in the game, it is my favourite criminal outfit in SW.

 

Good points, that does make a lot of sense.

That would be a fun bit of connective tissue.

Agreed. It is quite the snazzy ensemble.

 

Lots of new info about the game today, as an embargo has dropped and we have various people talking about their experiences playing the game. Overall, sounds and looks a lot better than the ign previews, though there are still some rough spots like lip syncing, and it is something more solid than revolutionary. Still, looks fun, and looking forward to playing it.

One video I find especially interesting is this one with a collection of B-Roll footage, which notably includes everything that showed up in recent leaked videos:

Notably, Eleera from Crimson Climb makes an appearance.

Also this interview, asking the real questions ;p

But yeah, seriously surprised and delighted that Wildlife of Star Wars, one of my favorite star wars books, was a touchstone for this game and its wildlife.

The bit about favorite syndicates was great too, and there was a fair bit about how this game fits into the comics set around the same time.

 

Yeah. I watched SkillUp's impressions video and the game looks to be staking everything on its SW setting.

Vehicle combat looks a mess, but then it's a mess in alot of games. Mad Max also tried it, also messy. The more significant comment he had is Destiny 2's Sparrows handle better.

I'm quite OK with simple game systems I can use, boosted by the setting.

I'm pretty certain I'll get it but I'm not as sure as to when, might wait for it to price drop.

 

Wonder if Trinia will appear as well and have some character development.

 

I just beat Mad Max and the vehicle combat is top notch! Much better than foot combat

 

Maybe it's better if you can get to the point of getting upgrades but the way it goes for me is:

Vehicle combat in open world = drive in circle trying to hit enemies who are also driving in a circle, combined with a crap camera. With the odd off-camer, impossible to dodge attack from an enemy you can't see.

 

Looking at various videos, it does sadly seem the criminal factions share the same small pool of ships. Shame - I know space isn't the focus but even a bit of cosmetic difference can go a long way.
....course, on the ground there does seem to be a pool of generic thug designs used by all syndicates plus factionless pirates and bandits so I suppose it is possible that the same is true with ships as well.

Yeah - honestly, star wars games are rarely revolutionary, but they are often well polished takes on various genres with a fun setting, so I often have fun with them.

But yeah I also probably going to be a while before I actually play it, especially since I don't even have a system that can run it yet, plus lower prices and more time to patch out issues like most games have at launch these days.

Still I will eagerly follow the discussion to find out about the story and various bits of world building it does, especially new ships and creatures.

That seems possible, maybe even likely. Given the comic connections and the fact you get to meet Qira herself, I see no reason why they would leave out Trinia and Margo

Well, with Mad Max the cars are a main focus, so I would expected vehicle controls get a bit more emphasis in that game.

 

Star Wars Outlaws expansion story packs been revealed and both are cameo Stories. One has a Lando and one has a certain pirate.

 

Excited by both of these premises, I'm curious if they'll just be quest lines or if they'll add new areas/planets to the map.

 

I think both will have new locations, the first probably minor, the second major.

 

So no Black Sun?



Still, these look interesting. Especially the pirate one - good to see Hondo again, and I am very curious to see what band of ruthless pirates are his enemies. Maybe that group a younger Kragan Gorr ran with?

I wouldn't be surprised if the Lando one was set on Cloud City.

 

Did we ever get the story as to why Hondo was on his own by Rebels' timeframe? Maybe it's the remnants of the old Florrum pirates that broke away from him.

 

I think Rebels had a quick line about how the Empire broke up his old group. Though apparently a reformed Ohnaka Pirate gang under new leadership shows up as villains in this time period in the comics, so the idea of Hondo vs his old gang could still work.

 

The Empire, he mentions that in Rebels

 

Oh yeah, forgot there was that line. Well, if they want to build on that a bit I don't think "Hondo was lying/eliding key details" about exactly what happened is anything but out of character.

 

Considering that they appeared shortly before Qi'ra trilogy, seems possible that they will return in this game.

 

Crimson Jack and his unique fashion sense???