Star Wars Battlefront

[Stoney Mason]

[toku]

[Stoney Mason]

Seeing the footage is nice but I still have no sense of how it feels and how fun it is or isn't. Fortunately that question will be answered in a few days.

[toku]

How does one get a beta key

[Stoney Mason]

It's an open beta

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Wife and kids are going to visit my boy out on the west coast for a week. I'm pretty fired up to get a few hours in on this. Been waiting a long time.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Early access code for XBone please, make it happen you industry insiders.

[Stoney Mason]

Watched a few streams. The people playing seem to be really enjoying it so that's always a good sign.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Watched a few vids and it looks fun. Will wait for first day impressions as I remember recent EA Dice games.

[Purrp Skirrp]

That's lame how they automated the dogfighting. You spawn in the plane and don't get to take off yourself. Other than that, things look good.

[chronovore]

Gonna download this today.

[Purrp Skirrp]

Pre-loading it now on Origin, but it says it won't be available until 1:00 PM Thursday.

[Rufus]

How hefty is the download?

[Purrp Skirrp]

10.8 GB

[Purrp Skirrp]

Looks like I'm staying up.
https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsBattlefront/comments/3nx72b/how_to_get_into_the_beta_in_just_under_6_hours/

[Stoney Mason]

Downloading on Xbox Now. You have to either have a VPN or just switch your region to australia on xbox.com to download it from the aus store.

[Take My Breh Away]

Played a bit of the PC version. It looks amazing and runs like a dream on high settings at 1080P even on my config (FX-8350/7870) and even pops 80FPS.

The gameplay is a bit my first Arena FPS sadly. There's nothing really distinct except the card system and even then it's not great. It's kinda boring, even.

 

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Seriously the PC version is lightyears ahead of the console versions

[close]

[Stoney Mason]

Personally I love it. I think they nailed it for what they were going for. It's fun. It's fast. It's simple. The better players will still outplay the weaker players. It reminds me of the melding of Battlefield and COD that EA has always been trying for but never succeeded with.

Of course I'm the target demographic. I love Battlefield and I love COD and Star Wars so its like the perfect storm for me but I understand why a lot of people are digging it. I really think its a pretty damn good mainstream shooter. Maybe the best one in quite awhile.

I'll post the negatives and positives later in a detailed post but I think it just hits on the fun factor. The hardcore types might not like it but I think anybody who appreciates more mainstream shooters will enjoy it. The music and sound are amazing.

[studyguy]

I don't want to install Origin to play this shit 

[Purrp Skirrp]

Early impressions, but I'm not really feeling it. Everything is streamlined and gunplay is more arcade like than BF4. No classes, just a card system. Fighting feels isolated at times and Red Orchestra 2 does a better job capturing large scale warfare. Ships are kind of detached from the battlefield, as you spawn in them rather than entering and taking off manually. There isn't a sense of massive scale, unlike the older games.

[Rufus]

Runs like butter on my system*, locked 60 at medium (haven't done any tweaking beyond that). Frostbyte scales really well. Game itself is leaving me cold. It looks the part, it sounds the part, but it's also not grabbing me at all.

Heroes get shot to shit extremely quickly (got Luke a couple of times), flight controls kinda suck on KB at least, Hoth feels lopsided toward the Empire side, the other map/mode is boring as shit.

*AMD Phenom2 X4 965
4GB RAM
280X

[thisismyusername]

Medium on a 760 is pretty impressive. I should see if V-sync works because the frametearing indoors at times. Woof. 90 FPS though isn't anything to sneeze at for 1080p Native with everything on medium/auto.

The overall game though...



I don't like either of the modes. The "Rush"-like mode is just bad. It allows the attackers to be able to spawn camp and the AT-ST (the think you're rushing to the end? IDK my Star Wars vehicles) is fucking powerful in good Battlefield players hands. Just switch between 1-3 (whatever on console) button modes and rain hell down on anything that dares stay in front of you in groups. I went from a -2 KDR into a +20 KDR just running that. Good old Tank skills.

No spotting is hurtful though. Too many times I've seen people flank and people just ignore it until they finally get shot in the back as well.

[Rufus]

One thing I forgot to mention is spawn locations. Unless you're lucky and a partner (how and when in a match these are assigned I don't know) is where you want to be, you're spawning at the same chokepoint everyone else spawns at and that's likely being covered by the enemy already. Rebel side on Hoth has it especially tough in one phase, where I've seen AT-STs just wait around the corner, picking people off that picked the wrong direction to walk around a rock. 

[Stoney Mason]

Played for a good number of hours. Like I said I really enjoy it. I think the hardest thing to get right in a shooter is that fun factor and the controls. I think this game does those aspects extremely well.

As far as the negatives, essentially the youtubers have already mentioned most of the flaws but just to repeat them here they are.

The spawning is sketchy in both modes. Drop Zone is a cod style mod but I often find that people are spawning on both sides of me coming from different directions. That's not ideal to be happening at such a clip. Walker Assault despite being a bigger map has worse spawns as it tends to spawn people right in front of you in groups.

Walker Assault in general is a good starting point for a mode but needs a ton of work. It's way too hard for the rebels. I mean it can be done but that's generally when the teams are super-uneven or you have a super coordinated team on one side. In just rando pub games the rebels always lose. There are lots of reasons for this that I won't bother going into but in general the whole mode needs a tuning pass to make it even for both sides at all times and at all stages.

The guns needs to be distinguished more. To me outside of that DLT gun which is a god gun all the guns kind of feel samey and not unique. They need more unique properties to make me decide between them and the decision meaningful and interesting.

Basically the game needs work on the balancing side on both a mode level and a weapon level.

But for me the core loop of combat whether it be on foot on vehicle based is enjoyable. It's a simplified Battlefield Star Wars. I think a lot of people will enjoy that. 

[Stoney Mason]

I'll have to work on this tomorrow.

[OnlyRegret]

Walker Assault in general is a good starting point for a mode but needs a ton of work. It's way too hard for the rebels. I mean it can be done but that's generally when the teams are super-uneven or you have a super coordinated team on one side. In just rando pub games the rebels always lose. There are lots of reasons for this that I won't bother going into but in general the whole mode needs a tuning pass to make it even for both sides at all times and at all stages.

Probably because it seems like the Rebels are the ones that actually need to do something to have a chance at winning.

[Rufus]

People take care of the uplinks just fine, provided they can get there. Focus fire on the AT-ATs is what seems to be the main issue. They rarely get down to half health, if that, which is probably teaching people that it's futile, so they go back to shooting/dodging storm troopers, which makes winning even more hopeless and so on.

I see this in Dirty Bomb too. People prefer to run around and chase the enemy, rather than damaging the objective that's trundling down the road at glacial speeds. Everybody waits for the big hitters to do the heavy lifting, even when the objective has only a sliver of health left.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Thanks for the impressions

Maybe a bit early to call out some issues as people are still ćearning?

[Rufus]

I was surprised by how quickly you get picked off most of the time. And I loved Red Orchestra 2. This is somehow more brutal than that. Much more chaotic. Maybe that's because people are still learning, maybe that's just what Battlefront is, dunno. Anything good I did just felt like happenstance (particularly if you push for an objective), which I guess is great to give you an authentic battlefield experience, but I didn't find it fun. 

[Stoney Mason]

I've honestly been wrecking people at the console version. Partially this is because an open beta tends to let in noobs who normally don't play shooters. But the other part of it is that this games relies on headshotting people more than most console shooters outside of Halo. So your really able to out skill people in battle from my perspective.

Btw I think the AT-AT power-up is too powerful. I've seen people be in that thing almost all game and wrack up insane scores. And there is no way to kill them out of it unlike even a Vader or Luke. That things needs a nerf in the full version.

[TakingBackSunday]

Wrecked people last night on PS4 as well.  I think people need to realize that you need to play this game in third person.

[Stoney Mason]

I think people need to realize that you need to play this game in third person.

Very much agreed

[Stoney Mason]

wrong thread

[Rufus]

Yeah, third person is a must. You see so much more. No annoying recoil animations either.

[demi]

Game is garbage. No single player zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[studyguy]

The most impressive thing to me about this game is they managed to make what should be the most exciting concept (Star Wars IP at war) with all its races, jobs, vehicles boring after the first hour.

It looks really nice, but once you dig in it's clunky and monotonous.
How the fuck did this happen?

[thisismyusername]

I think people need to realize that you need to play this game in third person.

Nah. PC can set their FoV back. So you can get that fish-eye look and be "MAH IM-MUR-SHUN" about the entire thing.

[Rufus]

I think people need to realize that you need to play this game in third person.

Nah. PC can set their FoV back. So you can get that fish-eye look and be "MAH IM-MUR-SHUN" about the entire thing.

That still won't allow you to look around cover. You can literally see around corners in third person. Massive advantage.

[Stoney Mason]

My detailed complaints with Walker Assault.

1.) Not sure why one side gets ground vehicles and the other doesn't. Vehicles are force multipliers in games like this. Having vehicles on both sides would balance the equation.
2.) No access to any anti-vehicle stuff in the loadouts. There is no C4 or Rocket Launchers in the base setup for the classes. So there is no way to be a truly anti-vehicle player. You just have to rely on the luck of the draw and try to get a rocket launcher.
3.) The ion shot which is supposed to be the Anti-vehicle perk sucks. It isn't noticeably effective and is much less useful than the personal shield.
4.) The second stage is too fast and useless for the rebels. I never amass any fighters here because it's too close to the first set and the imperials spawn right next to the outside objective.
5.) The imperials can go as far forward as they want and flank behind the rebels. Even taking turrets behind them. It would be like in Rush in Battlefield if the other team could go set up anywhere they wanted on the map  and had no out of bounds area.
6.) The last area for the rebels can be completely overrun. And then the rebels spawn into a wave of death with people shooting you from AT-ST's , AT-AT's, Turrets and all the people who have pushed up so far you have no safe space to spawn.
7.) There is no guarantee you will get a orbital strike. In fact the empire can steal the power-up for the orbital strike. It's like some magic resource you have to scour the map for and then horde until the final showdown.

Needs a lot of balance work. 

[Stoney Mason]

I think people need to realize that you need to play this game in third person.

Nah. PC can set their FoV back. So you can get that fish-eye look and be "MAH IM-MUR-SHUN" about the entire thing.

That still won't allow you to look around cover. You can literally see around corners in third person. Massive advantage.

Yeah its a crazy big advantage. I'm not saying you can't play well from first person. I'm saying however well you play that way, you will play even better from third person.

[Stoney Mason]

Hey guys,
A few things here. As this is a technical test, we did remove a lot of Star Cards and abilities that would greatly benefit the Rebels within Walker Assault on Hoth. That being said, we are very aware of the lopsidedness of the matches, and it will be resolved at launch.

[toku]

This game is boring as hell. Pretty to look at and great sounding though.

[toku]

Game is fun for a bit on the bigger maps but the lack of depth is kinda shining through already. Not that many weapons, feels like the loadouts don't make as big of an effect on playstyle as you'd think. It looks very pretty though. The menus are super super clean.

Anyway, they should have made this a class based game. It's paper-thin as is.

Yeah, I don't understand why they didn't go class based either. BF4 had way too much shit to unlock for the sake of shit to unlock so I get moving away from that but they went too hard on the simplification.

Sexy ass menus though definitely.

[thisismyusername]

Where the hell is the speeder bikes? People say you can tow cable the AT-AT's but I can't fucking find a powerup for that shit.

[Rufus]

I don't know if they're particular to a location, but I picked one up in the last phase near the uplinks. I seem to remember seeing one near one of the back exits as well. Keep in mind, they control like shit. Slow as shit and turn like an oil tanker.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Daaamn didnt know beta was for everyone.

Turned on PS4 when my wife went to sleep and there it was ready for download! Could have been playing already now gotta wait for slow ass psn -_-

[Stoney Mason]

I just love the way the combat feels. I love the boost. I like not having to reload. I like how its all hip firing instead of ads. I love the 3rd person. Sometimes you just go on a roll and you feel like a god.
 
Just a random moment from earlier today when I was playing.

[The Legend of Sunblade]

https://twitter.com/thatbitchlando/status/652550432003334144

[Rufus]

[Stoney Mason]

This vid really helped me. If you camp that spot you have a much greater chance winning as the rebels and hopefully getting an orbital strike drop.

[Purrp Skirrp]

On rails vehicles and this dumb af token system

Did they think dumbing things down would attract a larger audience? CoD and Destiny both offer classes and customization. The original Battlefronts weren't overwrought games.

Sniping is a struggle for real using a one shot rifle with a fucking cool down. Are there only 4 guns to choose from in the entire game, outside of the card system?

They simplified everything to a fault, trying to fix what was never broken instead of building upon the previous iterations.

I always imagined things like player count increasing with better technology, but nah, we went from 64 to 40 in a decade's time.

[Cerveza mas fina]

I think the game is pretty cool, might get it. Got in to an AT-ST today and a Tie Interceptor and while I sucked ass it was fun. Had one good game where I had most kills too

Still use ads too much though.

I really dont see how this is dumbing down compared to cod and destiny btw weve only seen two maps and five ranks, and the ship controls are finally good for a BF game.

[Cerveza mas fina]

I just really wished there was some kind of campaign, like 5 hours even.

[Stoney Mason]

Won a shitload today as rebels and I wasn't even using orbital strikes to do it. Felt good.

The mode still isn't balanced but it is possible to win rather easily if your team gets in the other team's ass.

Will make balancing it to be "fair" in a sense even more difficult now that people are learning how to play rebel side.

[Cerveza mas fina]

Rebel scum

I have to say that while I feel the map is unbalanced I think asymmetrical maps like that are ok with me. You switch sides anyway and it is possible to win apparently making it all the sweeter.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Love this game.

Pre-ordered it twice. Me and my son were smashing rebel scum last night from Washington to Cleveland with no lag.

Can't squad up though, so stupid.

[TakingBackSunday]

Yeah the beta solidified my purchase.  I know its simple and "fps for babbies" but I was crushing fools last night and was having a blast.

Empire > Rebellion

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Yeah the beta solidified my purchase.  I know its simple and "fps for babbies" but I was crushing fools last night and was having a blast.

Empire > Rebellion

Yup I'm having a blast. I had a game where I jumped into tie fighter almost immediately and held in the entire game, ended up going 12-0.

[brawndolicious]

Loving it and I mostly play BF4. The weapons selection is really constricted (wish there was a sniper) but hopefully the final game gives us some more blasters. The reloading is tricky as hell in the middle of a firefight but it's a big risk/reward decision. And I like how if I do finish off a guy, I don't have to manually reload and wait through the animation before I'm ready to pop my head out. It's very different than most FPS but you get used to it.

The air vehicles become godly once you figure out how to use them and where their tokens spawn. In Battlefield, I always flew in cockpit view but you really want to use third person for this to be able to see other ships you're chasing and the blasters have like ~15° auto aim anyways. Strafing a walker does massive damage similar to the orbital strike. I even liked how much they gimped the snowspeeder in every way except for having a jammer/tow cable to do one very specific job at the very end of the match.

Also I hated it at first but it does make sense to make vehicles/special stuff as tokens on the battlefield so your teammates are always running forward towards the objectives instead of waiting at vehicle spawn points. It's got 24 less players than Battlefield but it feels like there's always way more going on around you.

[Cerveza mas fina]

People still wait on tokens no?