Star Wars Battlefront II (Nov 17)

[McDNicks17]

In that case, I hope it crashes hard. The faster we get the Star Wars license into someone else's hands, the better.

In the meantime I'll hope for a Star Wars version of Mass Effect from BioWare that will never come.

With EA getting their hands on Bioware, I'm not sure you want that.

 

[Bjorn Le]

Over 415,000 downvotes now. Boycott call is 4th on my r/all feed. Disney can't be very happy about this at all. EA may not give a **** about negative blowback but Disney absolutely does.

Disney operates on the same operating principles EA does. I wouldn't be surprised if Disney has been encouraging the microtransactions. Nothing good has come video game wise since Disney took over. They axed 1313, which Kathleen Kennedy has since said they really like conceptually and artistically (so essentially they only cancelled it because of their scorched earth policy on EU content). They almost certainly played a big role in Visceral getting shut down, because EA/Disney didn't like the direction. Battlefront 1 was a shallow and generic shooter with Star Wars art. Battlefront 2's campaign looks nice but every well else...

And the thing is, even if Disney wanted to switch, no one else has the capacity. Activision-Blizzard doesn't have enough studios, Ubisoft doesn't have a marque shooter studio (and it's not so easy to get another studio to just start from scratch). Take-Two isn't a centralized publisher and their biggest entity (Rockstar) almost certainly has zero interest in making a Star Wars game.

I have zero faith that a truly great Star Wars game is going to be made anytime soon. Maybe Respawn's project.

 

[Commander Clueless]

With EA getting their hands on Bioware, I'm not sure you want that.

You may be right.

 

[Dolemite]

"So what?" says the guy happily spending money on grind that has been artificially lengthened by the developer with the specific aim of getting said money.

Again. How is that different from the Hutt Contracts in the first game?

 

[KingBran]

Ummm.... stuff just got A LOT cheaper...

Vader was 60,000 credits a few hours ago. Now hes 15,000. Unlocked him immediately. Looking at other characters some are 5k.

So basically less than an hour to unlock anybody now. Havent looked at crates and stuff yet. Just noticed the characters then had to run.

Maybe they decided to change how stuff unlocks? I mean the cost anyways.

 

[XX]

Ummm.... stuff just got A LOT cheaper...

Vader was 60,000 credits a few hours ago. Now hes 15,000. Unlocked him immediately. Looking at other characters some are 5k.

So basically less than an hour to unlock anybody now. Havent looked at crates and stuff yet. Just noticed the characters then had to run.

Maybe they decided to change how stuff unlocks? I mean the cost anyways.

They reduced the cost by 75% and also reduced the end of campaign reward by 75%

 

[Tatar Shots]

Ummm.... stuff just got A LOT cheaper...

Vader was 60,000 credits a few hours ago. Now hes 15,000. Unlocked him immediately. Looking at other characters some are 5k.

So basically less than an hour to unlock anybody now. Havent looked at crates and stuff yet. Just noticed the characters then had to run.

Maybe they decided to change how stuff unlocks? I mean the cost anyways.

Well the PR was an absolute nightmare. It still isn't going to stop here. Instead of $300 or 40 hours of gameplay to unlock Luke/Vader it is $70 or 10 hours. Still nothing that addresses the game being P2W. The system is being universally panned and apparently enough pre-orders were cancelled to get a pre release change. Hopefully the game sells so poorly that no other company attempts to implement this system in a full price AAA game.

 

[XX]

Worth noting that EA can change the loot box odds and rewards as much as they want because there is no requirement that they be transparent about the odds. Gamespot bought $100 worth of crates and didn't get enough to unlock Vader at the previous price.

 

[KingBran]

They reduced the cost by 75% and also reduced the end of campaign reward by 75%

Thanks!

Well the PR was an absolute nightmare. It still isn't going to stop here. Instead of $300 or 40 hours of gameplay to unlock Luke/Vader it is $70 or 10 hours. Still nothing that addresses the game being P2W. The system is being universally panned and apparently enough pre-orders were cancelled to get a pre release change. Hopefully the game sells so poorly that no other company attempts to implement this system in a full price AAA game.

$70 / 10 hours to unlock Vader? Dude, the trial you only get 10 hours of gameplay. Ive beat the first 3 campaign missions (all you can play in the trial) and that took an hour. Ive played two matches of Heros vs Villains today and had 20k After playing for an hour yesterday. Enough to unlock Vader and a 5k character.

Last time I exited the game it said I had less than 8hrs of time left. So just over an hour of online play I have unlocked Vader and can unlock another. Plus all the crates and star cards I have already got and i spent some scrap on some star cards. Pretty darn good start for only playing for about an hour and 15 mins.

Like I said, I hate pay to win but at least they are doing something about it. I guess you will just conplain no matter what huh?

$70/10 hours... give me a break! Im actually playing the game and can tell you thats 100% false!

Ive spent a grand total of $0 on this game with EA access but will be buying it for $54 probably tonight or tomorrow. Ive been MVP in 3 matches and have proven I can play against some of these people who have high level star cards. Don't be so dramatic.

 

[KingBran]

Worth noting that EA can change the loot box odds and rewards as much as they want because there is no requirement that they be transparent about the odds. Gamespot bought $100 worth of crates and didn't get enough to unlock Vader at the previous price.

At the rate I was going it would have been about 4hrs of online gaming to get Vader. The crates dont give a ton of credits usually. You get a lot more by playing. I think crates are pretty worthless honestly. Random star cards you dont care about usually. Just my experience so far.

 

[Tatar Shots]

Thanks!


$70 / 10 hours to unlock Vader? Dude, the trial you only get 10 hours of gameplay. Ive beat the first 3 campaign missions (all you can play in the trial) and that took an hour. Ive played two matches of Heros vs Villains today and had 20k After playing for an hour yesterday. Enough to unlock Vader and a 5k character.

Last time I exited the game it said I had less than 8hrs of time left. So just over an hour of online play I have unlocked Vader and can unlock another. Plus all the crates and star cards I have already got and i spent some scrap on some star cards. Pretty darn good start for only playing for about an hour and 15 mins.

Like I said, I hate pay to win but at least they are doing something about it. I guess you will just conplain no matter what huh?

$70/10 hours... give me a break! Im actually playing the game and can tell you thats 100% false!

Ive spent a grand total of $0 on this game with EA access but will be buying it for $54 probably tonight or tomorrow. Ive been MVP in 3 matches and have proven I can play against some of these people who have high level star cards. Don't be so dramatic.

You don't understand how the freemium model works. Your always given plenty at the beginning to get you hooked. You can keep claiming 'false' but the information is readily available if you bother to look. I already posted 1 link for you. Plenty of reviews out there with actual data. Also, P2W doesn't mean you are guaranteed to win, just that you have a competitive advantage.

 

[XX]

At the rate I was going it would have been about 4hrs of online gaming to get Vader. The crates dont give a ton of credits usually. You get a lot more by playing. I think crates are pretty worthless honestly. Random star cards you dont care about usually. Just my experience so far.

Uhh, crates are the only way to progress in the game. The amount of star cards you have for a class + their level = your class progression. Saying you are getting lots of cards you don't care about from crates is what they want. That's why most games water down their crates with things like sprays and emotes. And the cards in modes like Starfighter are OP as f***. Things like 50% boosts to health and damage in a mode that is all about burst damage in a small window of time.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Man EA is the gift that keeps on giving.

 

[Chaels Arms]

I could definitely be misunderstanding the progression system but aside from all the microtransaction nonsense the crates you unlock through playing the game are awarded on a straight "time played" basis and completely unrelated to what you're actually doing in game? So there's no connection between playing objectives, getting high scores etc. and the loot crates?

 

[Leafs at Knight]

Actually makes me mad that they destroyed this franchise; the OG BF games were amazing, and there's also barely any Star Wars games out there..

 

[XX]

I could definitely be misunderstanding the progression system but aside from all the microtransaction nonsense the crates you unlock through playing the game are awarded on a straight "time played" basis and completely unrelated to what you're actually doing in game? So there's no connection between playing objectives, getting high scores etc. and the loot crates?

The credit gain difference between someone idling in the server and the top performer on a team is minimal. They also capped the amount you can grind out daily in the offline arcade mode.

 

[KingBran]

You don't understand how the freemium model works. Your always given plenty at the beginning to get you hooked. You can keep claiming 'false' but the information is readily available if you bother to look. I already posted 1 link for you. Plenty of reviews out there with actual data. Also, P2W doesn't mean you are guaranteed to win, just that you have a competitive advantage.

It doesn't take an extra $70 / 10hrs to get Vader. I have actually played the game. I am not saying other parts aren't true or that its a good system. Quite the opposite actually. I have actually played it for a little over an hour and have unlocked 2 characters including Vader. I really don't care if some site says it takes longer - it doesn't since they changed the amount of credits needed. I know what P2W means, not sure why you felt you needed to give me a definition.

 

[KingBran]

Uhh, crates are the only way to progress in the game. The amount of star cards you have for a class + their level = your class progression. Saying you are getting lots of cards you don't care about from crates is what they want. That's why most games water down their crates with things like sprays and emotes. And the cards in modes like Starfighter are OP as ****. Things like 50% boosts to health and damage in a mode that is all about burst damage in a small window of time.

What? You don't have to "progress" at all if you don't want to and you can buy crates with in-game currency. You don't have to spend real money to get crates at all. You also get some as a reward for in-game actions.

Guys, I have actually played the game and know how it works. I don't get my info from old articles and video's from before they updated the game yesterday. I still hate the system but they have actually improved it.

 

[Papa Francouz]

What? You don't have to "progress" at all if you don't want to and you can buy crates with in-game currency. You don't have to spend real money to get crates at all. You also get some as a reward for in-game actions.

Guys, I have actually played the game and know how it works. I don't get my info from old articles and video's from before they updated the game yesterday. I still hate the system but they have actually improved it.

I’m pretty sure what people mean by “progress” is improving their characters and star fighters with cards. Otherwise, you will be at a significant disadvantage compared to those who have paid for crates and have upgraded their characters & star fighters accordingly.

As far as what to define this system as, I think one of the videos posted by XX summed it up best - this isn’t “pay to win” as much as it is “pay to get a massive advantage over those who don’t pay for crates.” I guarantee a lot of people will fall into the trap that EA has set because players won’t want to “fall behind” the competition, and EA will get exactly what they want in the end.

As for me, personally, the “time management” aspect of these types of games piss me off the most. When game companies try to hog people’s time and not let them play other games, people are forced to miss out on so many brilliant titles due to the false sense of progression exhibited by companies like EA. Nothing upsets me more than people trying to control my free time without letting me have any input into what I’m doing.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

To further how much EA says f*** you, they have removed the refund button from their customer portal page.

EDIT: This was apparently an error that has been fixed. Take it for what you will.

 

[Commander Clueless]

"Pay to win" is being WAY too kind to this system.

"Pay to get a chance at maybe getting a relevant objective advantage" is a bit more accurate.

...well, not in Starfighter mode. Having cards vs not having them is incredibly unbalanced in that mode. At least in the assault mode you can still play.

Either way you look at it, it's terrible multiplayer practice. It's the kind of stuff that you expect in CCGs just because of their nature (which still sucks), not in online shooters.


While I did enjoy what I've played of the multiplayer, any progression system based on lootboxes is frankly a bad progression system.

The campaign trial leaves me wanting more. I'll probably pick it up just for that to be honest.

 

[CanadianHockey]

I don't agree that buying the game means you are supportive of microtransactions.

I'm not going to spend money on microtransactions, but the local multiplayer and single player modes are enough to justify spending money on this. I'll play online multiplayer, too. I have never been big on playing as heroes (can see why the paywall/playwall is bullshit, though) and feel I'll still have fun playing, even if I'm at a disadvantage because others have spent more or played more.

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

 

[KingBran]

I’m pretty sure what people mean by “progress” is improving their characters and star fighters with cards. Otherwise, you will be at a significant disadvantage compared to those who have paid for crates and have upgraded their characters & star fighters accordingly.

As far as what to define this system as, I think one of the videos posted by XX summed it up best - this isn’t “pay to win” as much as it is “pay to get a massive advantage over those who don’t pay for crates.” I guarantee a lot of people will fall into the trap that EA has set because players won’t want to “fall behind” the competition, and EA will get exactly what they want in the end.

As for me, personally, the “time management” aspect of these types of games piss me off the most. When game companies try to hog people’s time and not let them play other games, people are forced to miss out on so many brilliant titles due to the false sense of progression exhibited by companies like EA. Nothing upsets me more than people trying to control my free time without letting me have any input into what I’m doing.

I know what they meant by "progress" and I stand by what I said, you don't have to do it but you will end up doing it because you will gain money and unlock crates by default and you can spend that money on crates that give you more money, boost cards and scrap that you can spend on more cards. I was only saying "pay to win" because that's what everyone here and in other places was calling it. You are right, it's not pay to win, it's pay to make your guy better IF you want to and IF you don't want to spend the time grinding to do it.

"Pay to win" is being WAY too kind to this system.

"Pay to get a chance at maybe getting a relevant objective advantage" is a bit more accurate.

...well, not in Starfighter mode. Having cards vs not having them is incredibly unbalanced in that mode. At least in the assault mode you can still play.

Either way you look at it, it's terrible multiplayer practice. It's the kind of stuff that you expect in CCGs just because of their nature (which still sucks), not in online shooters.


While I did enjoy what I've played of the multiplayer, any progression system based on lootboxes is frankly a bad progression system.

The campaign trial leaves me wanting more. I'll probably pick it up just for that to be honest.

Again, I was only saying "pay to win" because that's what everyone here and in other places was calling it. You are right, it's not pay to win, it's pay to make your guy better IF you want to and IF you don't want to spend the time grinding to do it. I agree that it is a terrible way of doing it but it doesn't ruin the game like some people here think. I was a cardless Vader and I got MVP against a group of Han, Leia, Yoda and Rey who all had at least one card. I think the Han had some tier 4 cards even. My experience so far is that the cards don't make you better unless you already know how to play the game. It's a short amount of experience and a small sample but I hardly see people with high level cards dominating the battlefield.

I don't agree that buying the game means you are supportive of microtransactions.

I'm not going to spend money on microtransactions, but the local multiplayer and single player modes are enough to justify spending money on this. I'll play online multiplayer, too. I have never been big on playing as heroes (can see why the paywall/playwall is bull****, though) and feel I'll still have fun playing, even if I'm at a disadvantage because others have spent more or played more.

This guy gets it. Honestly CH, you will be fine online if you don't spend money on micro-transactions. It's getting way blown out of proportion. Like I have been saying, its dumb and I don't agree with doing it but it's hardly a game-changer.


I think a lot of people think that if some dude wants to spend a ton of extra money on beefing up their guy they will be some supreme super dude that will be unstoppable online. Just my experience so far that's not the case and I have never felt inadequate in a match just unlocking things with in game currency and scrap to unlock cards.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Again, I was only saying "pay to win" because that's what everyone here and in other places was calling it. You are right, it's not pay to win, it's pay to make your guy better IF you want to and IF you don't want to spend the time grinding to do it. I agree that it is a terrible way of doing it but it doesn't ruin the game like some people here think. I was a cardless Vader and I got MVP against a group of Han, Leia, Yoda and Rey who all had at least one card. I think the Han had some tier 4 cards even. My experience so far is that the cards don't make you better unless you already know how to play the game. It's a short amount of experience and a small sample but I hardly see people with high level cards dominating the battlefield.

Oh I wasn't throwing any attacks around, just more of a tongue-in-cheek comment about all the videos and stuff about it. I'm just saying it's pay to gamble on maybe getting better.

You're right. In assault, I honestly don't notice a difference. I'm sure it's there and the cards absolutely give you an objective advantage (which is terrible design), but I don't think it's that detrimental to the experience in practice.... at least so far. If that happens, I'll probably stop playing but in the meantime I'm rather enjoying it.

I do think it has a rather large impact on starfighter though...people with those high level cards can blow you to bits very quickly.