My opinions on GameSpot's preview

[Dagobahn Eagle]

GameSpot Preview

You'll also be able to make use of crates that are strewn about, which, once cracked by your fusion cutter, will yield some much needed bonuses. In addition to the opposing forces you'll encounter on the various planets, you'll find third parties that range from helpful to harmful. For example, the Ewoks of Endor will obviously help you out if you play as the Rebel forces, but they'll hinder you if you play as the Imperials. On the other end of the spectrum, there are the Tusken Raiders of Tatooine, who are mad at everyone and will shoot anything around them.

I dislike that idea. First of all because I hate 'bots, both smart and stupid. If I play a game on the Web, it's because I want to play against humans, not machines. The 'bots in Battlefield 1942 were a nightmare (I've always had an average Single Player score of at least thrice my Multi Player score).

 

Second, from experience I know that such interference is only bothersome, even if it is on my side. What are the Ewoks supposed to do anyway? Rig up catapults and destroy players with rocks? I can picture "swooping" through the woods on a Speeder Bike and then get killed by a little bear-like humanoid who's strung a rope across my path. And either way, indigenous species as primitive as Ewoks shouldn't be able to be that nasty to Imperials anyway.

 

I really hope there'll be a way to turn these 'bots off, especially those damn Ewoks.

 

While the single-player game obviously has a lot going for it, the big draw for many players will be Battlefront's online multiplayer component. All three consoles are slated to have substantial online support that will let you duke it out with a small army. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox will support 16 players online or 32 over a LAN, while PC players will get a bigger chunk of action with support for 32 players online and 64 over a LAN.

Consoles have gotten so advanced over the years. I'm getting a PlayStation 2 upon returning to Norway (we couldn't buy one here, because back in Europe wouldn't be able to buy new games because the American PlayStation 2 wouldn't be able to support the P. A. L. format), and now I'm seriously considering getting Battlefront for it. My only concern is that since it's a PC game, there might be compromises to make the game playable on the PS2.

 

Star Wars Battlefront's gameplay is equal parts Battlefield 1942, EA's popular PC title from 2002, and Risk, the classic board game.

I wish I knew more about this "RISK-style campaign mode". It sounds really interesting.

 

--Eagle

[yaebginn]

The risk thing is like you take over planets until you get the galaxy. Like, imps keep fighting until they get the whole galaxy. and you win some, you lose some, just like risk.

[StormHammer]

Originally posted by Dagobahn Eagle

 

I dislike that idea. First of all because I hate 'bots, both smart and stupid. If I play a game on the Web, it's because I want to play against humans, not machines. The 'bots in Battlefield 1942 were a nightmare (I've always had an average Single Player score of at least thrice my Multi Player score).

 

Second, from experience I know that such interference is only bothersome, even if it is on my side. What are the Ewoks supposed to do anyway? Rig up catapults and destroy players with rocks? I can picture "swooping" through the woods on a Speeder Bike and then get killed by a little bear-like humanoid who's strung a rope across my path. And either way, indigenous species as primitive as Ewoks shouldn't be able to be that nasty to Imperials anyway.

 

I really hope there'll be a way to turn these 'bots off, especially those damn Ewoks.

 

I honestly don't see a problem having these '3rd faction' bots in the game. The whole idea with Battlefront is to make the battles feel like those in the SW movies. Whether you like it or hate it, Ewoks took part in the battle on Endor, and helped to swing the battle against the Imperials.

 

Lucasarts probably decided (rightly IMHO) that not many people in their right mind would actively want to play as an Ewok, a Jawa or a Tusken raider.

 

When it comes to 'scoring' off or with bots, that is one of the balance issues they certainly need to address, because as you indicate no bot can match the unpredictability of a human opponent so are usually easier to kill. Hopefully, 'bot scores' will be quite low in the scheme of things, and not have too much of an impact on the gameplay.

 

Having said that, we already know that when Luke or Darth Vader appear, they will be a force to be reckoned with.

 

 

My only concern is that since it's a PC game, there might be compromises to make the game playable on the PS2.

 

Since when did it become a PC game? The game is being simultaneously developed across three platforms, so it's certainly not a PC game that is simply being ported to consoles. This kind of multi-platform development is a growing trend in the industry, to build a more common playing ground while reducing development costs.

 

It can be a two-edged sword though. It might increase compatibility and help to achieve a more common play style across all three platforms - but on the other hand there is always the dreaded 'lowest common denominator' that gets factored into the equation. In other words...the game is desgined around the capabilities of the lowest spec machine. Obviously the game will have interface tweaks and receive optimisation for each platform (the PC will get higher res textures as well), but I doubt the core gameplay mechanics will differ that much. This will either make or break the game.

 

Hopefully Lucasarts has taken all these issues into consideration during development. They must be doing a lot of juggling right now to ensure people playing on each platform will be satisfied.

[Xirion]

im all up for 3rd parties being involved!

adds to the realism!

[Mountainforest]

I like the third factions too, and I don't think a bad AI would be very harmfull anyway.

I don't think you will see much ewoks, but mostly the traps they set, you don't need muchy AI for that.

And about the tuskans, they aren't very smart anyway, so bad AI would be good for the realism

[Fleab]

Yeah the 3rd faction in my opinion is a good idea. Haven't the developers said time after time they want to make the battles from the movies realistic in the game. The battle of endor just isn't realistic without ewoks.

[yaebginn]

and it gives the rebels an edge. cause they are weaker than the imps, with less stuff, and less armor. it just gives them an edge. I guess clones and droids are evenly matched or something, cause they both have people to help them. but who knows, there is alot we dont know about the game.

[Schetter]

Originally posted by Dagobahn Eagle

I wish I knew more about this "RISK-style campaign mode". It sounds really interesting.

 

--Eagle

 

Go pick up a copy of 'Rise of Nations.' I'm sure it'll be similar to that. There will be a map of the 'galaxy' and each planet will be occupied by either force. I'm guessing that certain planets will be considered 'adjacent' to each other so that you can't attack any other planet on the board. Anyway, if you attack a planet, you play the map that corresponds to that battle - win and you take the planet, lose and you get nothing.

[Dagobahn Eagle]

Well, a PC has a keyboard of probably half a hundred keys: A PlayStation 2 controller has, what, 12?

 

A PC has giga bytes upon giga bytes of storage space. The PS2 has very little and has to rely on memory cards to store as minor things as saved games.

 

And just about every game I've seen for a console has had compromises made to it.

 

That balance deal is actually a very good point. And thinking about it.. I think 3rd party bots might not be that bad. And you'll probably have the option to turn them off.. or to hack the game to make them run around with signs saying "Dagobahn Eagle rules" instead of getting in the way:D! If only they don't become too cartoonish, dumb, or over-used.