Star Wars Battlefront II

[Guest]

It's getting some mixed reviews prior to it's release on Friday, I doubt if I'll bite at release as it's campaign is 4-5 hours and rest is multiplayer with loot boxes.

 

Destiny/Call of Duty set in Star Wars.

[Allan]

It's getting some mixed reviews prior to it's release on Friday, I doubt if I'll bite at release as it's campaign is 4-5 hours and rest is multiplayer with loot boxes.

 

Destiny/Call of Duty set in Star Wars.

 

Everything I've read says the gameplay is very good, but there are issues surrounding the the pay-to-win aspect of mulitplayer through the loot system currently in place.

 

They've already adjusted the points required to unlock heros & villains in game when playing multiplayer - They used feedback from the Play First Trial on Origin to make this change, so I'm hopeful that further changes will be incoming.

[Sweeney287]

Admitted only played it for a short time with the 10 hours EA early access, but the movement of the characters of the screen is a real issue for me. I hate the third person over the shoulder view as they don't seem to move naturally, very early Ghost reconditioned esq

 

Now going to wait for the full reviews and might even wait for the rumoured price drop to coincide with the release of the new SW film in December.

[Guest]

EA has switched off Star Wars Battlefront 2's microtransactions following the intense fan furore over their implementation into the game.

 

The ability to buy loot boxes with real-world money disappeared from the Origin, PlayStation and Microsoft stores in the early hours of this morning. Shortly thereafter, EA released this statement from DICE boss Oskar Gabrielson:

 

"Thank you to everyone in our community for being the passionate fans that you are.

 

"Our goal has always been to create the best possible game for all of you - devoted Star Wars fans and game players alike. We've also had an ongoing commitment to constantly listen, tune and evolve the experience as it grows. You've seen this with both the major adjustments, and polish, we have made over the past several weeks.

 

"But as we approach the worldwide launch, it's clear that many of you feel there are still challenges in the design. We've heard the concerns about potentially giving players unfair advantages. And we've heard that this is overshadowing an otherwise great game. This was never our intention. Sorry we didn't get this right.

 

"We hear you loud and clear, so we're turning off all in-game purchases. We will now spend more time listening, adjusting, balancing and tuning. This means that the option to purchase crystals in the game is now offline, and all progression will be earned through gameplay. The ability to purchase crystals in-game will become available at a later date, only after we've made changes to the game. We'll share more details as we work through this.

 

"We have created a game that is built on your input, and it will continue to evolve and grow. Star Wars Battlefront 2 is three times the size of the previous game, bringing to life a brand new Star Wars story, space battles, epic new multiplayer experiences across all three Star Wars eras, with more free content to come. We want you to enjoy it, so please keep your thoughts coming. And we will keep you updated on our progress."

There's no word yet on when loot crates will return.

 

According to Venturebeat sources, Disney boss Bob Iger phoned EA boss Andrew Wilson shortly before the U-turn was announced to discuss Star Wars Battlefront 2. Oh, to be a fly on the wall of that conversation.

 

This week has seen Battlefront 2 - and the entire Star Wars brand - dragged into primetime by news stories on its controversial loot crates featured on the front pages of BBC and CNN. While it's nice to think Disney care about the manner in which Battlefront 2's progression gameplay was affected by crates, it feels more likely this firestorm of bad PR forced the change.

 

We've been tracking the discussion - and EA's attempts to tweak Battlefront's progression - as it has built over the past couple of months. Battlefront 2's progression system - indelibly tied to the opening of loot crates - was widely identified as a problem back during the game's press preview and public beta phase. EA said we'd not seen the final version of it and promptly released some tweaks concerning the rarity of cards available in crates, among other things.

 

But the problem of having a loot crate system determining your progression and performance in matches remained. EA was forced to try and further dampen the flames. But it didn't work - early access to Battlefront 2's final version showed, unsurprisingly, this integral part of the game had not been dramatically altered. As general release neared, fan forums and reddit made their voices heard - specifically around the costs of unlocking heroes. EA slashed the cost of characters such as Darth Vader in response - but the feeling the game was panhandling players had stuck, and Battlefront had caught the attention of mainstream press. This week brought a reddit AMA which did nothing to quell the community's fears and then word various Gambling Commissions around Europe had decided to take an interest.

 

Phew.

 

Battlefront 2 officially launches today.

[Allan]

They are just going to turn the microtransactions back on after you have bought the game.

 

Microtransactions aren't necessarily the problem. After all, you don't need to buy them. The problem has been that the loot crate system opened up a pay to win system, which is a problem. Microtransactions will return, no doubt, it's what they'll allow players to purchase that will determine whether this game will sink or swim, imho of course.

 

Had the loot system been purely cosmetic then there wouldn't be anywhere near the nerdrage that there has been.

 

It was my understanding that DICE had received enough community feedback during the beta that they would not implement a pay to win system with the loot crates, but they either then ignored the feedback or were gazumped by EA. (I know which one my money would be on).

 

There are whispers around the internet that the recent temporary suspension of microtransactions is due to Disney putting pressure on EA, as they ultimately own the franchise rights to Star Wars and don't want any negative press with the upcoming release of The Last Jedi.

 

Somebody at DICE or EA has dropped the ball big time on this and they can't backtrack fast enough to appease the player community.

[Guest]

Microtransactions aren't necessarily the problem. After all, you don't need to buy them. The problem has been that the loot crate system opened up a pay to win system, which is a problem. Microtransactions will return, no doubt, it's what they'll allow players to purchase that will determine whether this game will sink or swim, imho of course.

 

Had the loot system been purely cosmetic then there wouldn't be anywhere near the nerdrage that there has been.

 

It was my understanding that DICE had received enough community feedback during the beta that they would not implement a pay to win system with the loot crates, but they either then ignored the feedback or were gazumped by EA. (I know which one my money would be on).

 

There are whispers around the internet that the recent temporary suspension of microtransactions is due to Disney putting pressure on EA, as they ultimately own the franchise rights to Star Wars and don't want any negative press with the upcoming release of The Last Jedi.

 

Somebody at DICE or EA has dropped the ball big time on this and they can't backtrack fast enough to appease the player community.

It's just shocking that a game which costs between £40 and £60 (possibly more with all the special versions that come out) can include such systems as opening loot and end up having to pay real money for it. Sure, if the game was free to play then by all means but it just comes across as a money grab.

 

As the article I posted previously said, it's alleged the boss of Disney contacted the boss of EA and shortly after the decision was made to pull it out.

 

It's about time the entertainment industry worked to please the fans rather than the beneficiaries.

[Aventus]

I wonder why people are so arsed about this, but have nothing to say about fifa ultimate team. That's a much worse offender in my eyes.

[Allan]

I wonder why people are so arsed about this, but have nothing to say about fifa ultimate team. That's a much worse offender in my eyes.

 

Very valid point. It's a strange one when you bring FUT into the equation. That's more pay to win than probably any other EA game around. Possibly more so than any other game on the market in all honesty.

 

Perhaps because the FUT mode has been around for so long now, it's just accepted as being part of the culture of FIFA.

 

Whereas with Battlefront/Battlefield, a pay to win loot system has never really been in place - microtransactions in the DICE World have always been cosmetic up until this game, at least so early after a game's launch anyway. Base weapon packs were always released for Battlefield much later in the game's life cycle - So I suppose that could be counted as pay to win...

[Lee909]

I was planning on getting Star Wars cant see it now.

 

Assassins creed has a small amount of legendary weapons you can buy in game too. This microtransaction shit is taking the piss. Rockstar are to blame as much as EA. Once they showed you could successfully fuck off DLC for multiplayer transactions it was the end.

[Guest]

I wonder why people are so arsed about this, but have nothing to say about fifa ultimate team. That's a much worse offender in my eyes.

FIFA Ultimate Team is a choice, a part of the game that if someone never used it (like myself) would never have known it existed or that you had to pay to get involved. 

 

This game is appears to slam it right in your face. I won't know because as good as it looked I will not allow myself to be fleeced by them.

 

If people want to that's a choice also - hopefully most people will choose not to buy it and see where it goes from there.

[Skidfingers McGonical]

It’s boss. That’s all I’ve got to say about it.

 

 

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