After experiencing "Elite Dangerous" for about a year and a half now, there's no way I could go back to playing an arcade or even sim-lite space combat game.
I haven't played Elite Dangerous, partly because I thought it was still in beta or something, and was never fully released. I thought Star Citizen might be cool, but it seems overly complicated from its environment, and never seems to get any closer to being finished, but maybe I haven't been paying attention.
I haven't played Elite Dangerous, partly because I thought it was still in beta or something, and was never fully released. I thought Star Citizen might be cool, but it seems overly complicated from its environment, and never seems to get any closer to being finished, but maybe I haven't been paying attention.
Elite Dangerous has been in full release mode since 2015. However, it frequently does get patches and major content upgrades. There is a learning curve involved but if you have the time and you like space combat then you can't go wrong with ED.
Supposedly you play as a couple different characters in the single player campaign (and can customize them). I am hoping it allows the player to select the the player character's sex (as I dislike being forced to play as a female character as in SW: Battlefront II), but I am not holding my breath.
Again, much rather have a game like X-Wing that focused more on "flying" and less on cut scenes.
I expect it will be dumbed down as well. One possible positive thing from the article is it says "One option you’ll have at your disposal in battle is to divert power between your ship’s different systems." That's a little like the original, anyway.
I haven't gotten to watch that video yet, but do they say this is mainly a SP game, or that it's a MP game with a little SP campaign to get you aquainted? I want proper SW, meaning story, not just a MP dogfight excuse. I *am* glad to see a Y wing though, a personal favorite.
I haven't gotten to watch that video yet, but do they say this is mainly a SP game, or that it's a MP game with a little SP campaign to get you aquainted? I want proper SW, meaning story, not just a MP dogfight excuse. I *am* glad to see a Y wing though, a personal favorite.
It seems to be about 50/50 on SP vs MP, from what I can tell in the videos. In the second video, they say something like using SP to get you ready for the the full MP campaign missions, but later they say that you can play the larger campaign as SP or MP, so my impression is you can do about as much SP as you can MP.
Looks a little better than I expected based on the first trailer . . . though I hope the customization options do not go too far (i.e. signature defect of the Tie Fighter was its lack of shields . . . I would hope you cannot customize a Tie Fighter into a Tie Defender . . .)
...though I hope the customization options do not go too far (i.e. signature defect of the Tie Fighter was its lack of shields . . . I would hope you cannot customize a Tie Fighter into a Tie Defender . . .
I read an interview with the project lead, who stated clearly that there would be no shields on TIE fighters, customized or not. The rest of the mods sound reasonable, and balance with the characteristics of the default weaponry so that stock kit will still be able to defeat customized craft.
Most likely just a smattering of missions and maps then release more to the masses later on.They are still putting up new stuff for Battlefront II,mainly multiplayer stuff..
''The Mission is Clear – Star Wars: Squadrons is a fully self-contained experience from day one, where you earn rewards through play. Climb the ranks and unlock new components like weapons, hulls, engines, shields, and cosmetic items in a clear path for progression that keeps game play fresh and engaging.''
''Keeps game play fresh and engaging''... in real life that equates to 'grinding' the game to progress to fancy pilot uniforms, better engines, shields, etc, etc!
''The Mission is Clear – Star Wars: Squadrons is a fully self-contained experience from day one, where you earn rewards through play. Climb the ranks and unlock new components like weapons, hulls, engines, shields, and cosmetic items in a clear path for progression that keeps game play fresh and engaging.''
''Keeps game play fresh and engaging''... in real life that equates to 'grinding' the game to progress to fancy pilot uniforms, better engines, shields, etc, etc!
I remember when they used to use "game play" to "keep game play fresh and engaging" . . .
''The Mission is Clear – Star Wars: Squadrons is a fully self-contained experience from day one, where you earn rewards through play. Climb the ranks and unlock new components like weapons, hulls, engines, shields, and cosmetic items in a clear path for progression that keeps game play fresh and engaging.''
''Keeps game play fresh and engaging''... in real life that equates to 'grinding' the game to progress to fancy pilot uniforms, better engines, shields, etc, etc!
I remember when they used to use "game play" to "keep game play fresh and engaging" . . .
Yep.
Engineers is the number one reason I stopped playing Elite Dangerous, second to the dwindling player population.
I work to earn money in real life, but I do not waste time in a video game to earn imaginary stuff just to be able to compete with other players.
It's has a single player campaign, you don't have to compete with other players...
Judging by past EA games the campaign will be a quick 5 or 6 missions that will serve as more of a tutorial for the multiplayer part of the game. That's why I'll remain skeptical and will wait until after the game comes out. If I'm right, I will have spared myself the time and money. If I'm wrong, then I'll be pleasantly surprised, buy it, and enjoy it. Either way, I win.
It's has a single player campaign, you don't have to compete with other players...
I do not desire "Skinner box" mechanisms in any games I play, period. I do not need "a clear path for progression that keeps game play fresh and engaging."
In the original X-Wing and Tie Fighter games, we had stock ships that we could change missile weapons on, and depending on the mission, were given a different ship to fly that was fully capable and upgraded. That is enough for me. Patronizing me by giving me a little upgrade here or there because I wouldn't want to play otherwise is insulting.
I'm not a rat!
I don't need to find the cheese at the end of the maze, I simply want to play a good game. A game that does not have artificial mechanisms to... "keep game play fresh and engaging." Wasn't there something that game designers used in the past to do this? Something cryptic and mystical that transcended the digital walls of the gaming halls, that we floated down on our quest to collect the trail of golden pellets?
You make some valid points Blastman but the fact is that the tastes and preferences of the current day gaming crowd are significantly different from what it was in the 90’s when the original SW space sims had their hey day.
I can lament all day long about how modern day mainstream audiences don’t care for real Rock music anymore but nothing will change that.
I do not desire "Skinner box" mechanisms in any games I play, period. I do not need "a clear path for progression that keeps game play fresh and engaging."
You will be pleased to hear that you do not have to participate in the game's skinning/ship painting activity. Even better, according to the devs, you will be able to turn off custom paint jobs for other players, for yourself, or both, so you will not have to fight against pink TIE fighters with Hello Kitty logos on them unless you want to.
I do not desire "Skinner box" mechanisms in any games I play, period. I do not need "a clear path for progression that keeps game play fresh and engaging."
You will be pleased to hear that you do not have to participate in the game's skinning/ship painting activity. Even better, according to the devs, you will be able to turn off custom paint jobs for other players, for yourself, or both, so you will not have to fight against pink TIE fighters with Hello Kitty logos on them unless you want to.
Please tell me you are being ironic. In case not, Skinner Box.
TrackIR is an frankly obsolete technology - the last version came out how many years ago?. It also has a very niche marketplace, in hardcore flight-simmers primarily. I can understand not dividing resources to cater to a 0.0001% market segment.
It also has a very niche marketplace, in hardcore flight-simmers primarily. I can understand not dividing resources to cater to a 0.0001% market segment.
Are there more VR users than Track IR users? I highly, highly doubt that.
And until the cost comes down significantly for VR we will have more TrackIR users than VR users.
To anyone who want's to 'look around' inside a flight sim game of any type, or a driving game for that matter, the TrackIR and those similar to it are vital for the immersion factor. Any developer in those genres would be stupid to ignore it... why do you think Microsoft Flight Simulator made it usable before VR?... it doesn't take someone with only two brain cells to work that one out!
To anyone who want's to 'look around' inside a flight sim game of any type, or a driving game for that matter, the TrackIR and those similar to it are vital for the immersion factor. Any developer in those genres would be stupid to ignore it... why do you think Microsoft Flight Simulator made it usable before VR?... it doesn't take someone with only two brain cells to work that one out!
And MS Flight is a, well, flight simulator. Which is the TrackIRs market.
But face it, TrackIR 5 was launched in 2009 - **11** years ago. It's very old technology. Has Natural Point said they are working on a new version? The software was last updated in 2016.
Is TrackIR great? yes. But it's still anicent tech that isn't been worked on anymore.
Is TrackIR great? yes. But it's still anicent tech that isn't been worked on anymore.
I get where you're coming from and I am a huge VR advocate but just because it's old doesn't make Track IR useless. I don't know of anything Natural Point could add to a new version so that's why its not being worked on.
To anyone who want's to 'look around' inside a flight sim game of any type, or a driving game for that matter, the TrackIR and those similar to it are vital for the immersion factor. Any developer in those genres would be stupid to ignore it... why do you think Microsoft Flight Simulator made it usable before VR?... it doesn't take someone with only two brain cells to work that one out!
And MS Flight is a, well, flight simulator. Which is the TrackIRs market.
But face it, TrackIR 5 was launched in 2009 - **11** years ago. It's very old technology. Has Natural Point said they are working on a new version? The software was last updated in 2016.
Is TrackIR great? yes. But it's still anicent tech that isn't been worked on anymore.
As far as I know, software-wise, there are no outstanding issues to fixed . . . For hardware, maybe they could improve tracking resolution slightly, or come up with a slightly less obtrusive tracking device for the user to wear, but it works nearly perfectly as is, and I am doubtful the sales from a new but minimally improved version would justify the cost.
While I realize the flightsim market is small, I think you underestimate its size . . . granted, Naturalpoint should be lobbying to get Track IR support added; this would probably boost its sales noticeably, once the Star Wars fans saw it in use (and the advantage it conveyed).
I wonder why EA is selling this at £34.99... Yet, Jedi: Fallen Order from the same publisher is £54.99? Star Wars games are usually right up there price wise because they have a huge following... not this time it seems.
As long as they do, it's not, quick cash grab has worked for them every year since ages.
Yup. This reminded me of the people who constantly complain about how crappy SW movies are but they keep paying for tickets to see them whenever Disney pumps out a new one.
I'll wait... if it's not even close to what the early X Wing v TIE fighter games used to be like I'll give it a miss until it's cheap as chips. By that time it will have hopefully had any early problems ironed out, plus some decent and relevant reviews, not the usual hype because, 'Star Wars'.
Even as much as I want to play this, it is virtually impossible for me to be able to fly and fight competently without Track IR, so, I am passing for now.
From what I've seen it looks really really washed out and very arcade looking...the "no trackIR" issue is a problem with alot of players on its forums and lots of controller issues as well. No sale here.
I've put about 5 hours into the game so far and here are my initial assessments:
The good
1. The game looks absolutely gorgeous. The graphics are first rate.
2. As far as the physics and systems modelling go, this is on par with what we had in the XWing and Tie Fighter games from the 90's. There really was no dumbing-down here.
3. The main story in the campaign is pretty interesting and could have made a decent Star Wars movie.
The bad
1. The voice acting and dialogue is a bit too tongue in cheek for my tastes but I guess that's Star Wars for you.
2. There really was no valid reason for TrackIR to not have been supported. Maybe this will be added in a future update but I doubt it.
3. I would have preferred two separate campaigns for the Empire and the Rebellion instead of having one campaign where you keep alternating between the two sides.
I agree with all your points, except perhaps The Bad #2. There was probably a cost decision involved as well.
Ehh, I have trouble buying that . . . I mean, I am sure there was some cost, of course, in getting TrackIR enabled, but many space and flight games with presumably much smaller budgets do it; it seems strange that EA did not bother (other than them either not wanting to give TrackIR users an advantage in MP, maybe?).
Originally Posted by EAF331 MadDog
I hope they bring out campaign expansions, I'd pay well for a good and long campaign.
But gameplay is much like the old X-Wing games I think. Enjoying it
Definitely; like with virtually every other space/flight sim I've owned, I have minimal desire for multiplayer.
Unfortunately the flight mechanics of X-Wing games makes them very poor choices for competitive multiplayer because there is little room to abuse them in a way to give you an advantage, unlike say Elite Dangerous or Star Citizen with more newtonian flight mechanics.
A couple more observations since I have now played through most of the single player campaign which is 10 missions in total.
1. The focus of the game is very clearly multiplayer. You can easily tell that from looking at the list of achievements and the in-game features and menus. If you are looking for a purely single player space sim experience go with Elite Dangerous since that will have a lot more replayability.
2. It took me a long time to find a joystick command mapping that I felt comfortable with. I blame this on my 1,400+ hours that I've put into Elite Dangerous so my brain pretty much became hardwired to how things work in that space sim. I had to unlearn much of what I had learned when I started playing SW Squadrons.
Glad to hear some people are enjoying it. I can't even get it to run. Just says "Please unistall WinDbg". I've tried looking this up and can't even find it on my PC. (I realise it's the windows debugger but no joy in locating it!)
Glad to hear some people are enjoying it. I can't even get it to run. Just says "Please unistall WinDbg". I've tried looking this up and can't even find it on my PC. (I realise it's the windows debugger but no joy in locating it!)
Did you try running the "validation" feature when you right click on the game in Steam? I think it's called something like "validate install". It will run and look for any missing or corrupt files.
Yes, I tried that and it ran OK. Very odd as I've never seen that error in any other game before. Doesn't look like anyone else is experiencing it either....stumped!
(Just checking you mean the "Verify Integrity Of Game Files"?) Or is there something else? Cancel Cancel, I just ran it again and it says "Validating" once you start.
2. It took me a long time to find a joystick command mapping that I felt comfortable with. I blame this on my 1,400+ hours that I've put into Elite Dangerous so my brain pretty much became hardwired to how things work in that space sim. I had to unlearn much of what I had learned when I started playing SW Squadrons.
I bet you had fun switching from yaw on your pedals to roll, and likewise from roll on the x stick axis to yaw.
That's one transition have a hard as hell time with--no way I can fly Elite and Star Citizen at the same time. At the moment, I'm back in the pedals = roll camp, but Elite "space legs" comes out in a few months...
2. It took me a long time to find a joystick command mapping that I felt comfortable with. I blame this on my 1,400+ hours that I've put into Elite Dangerous so my brain pretty much became hardwired to how things work in that space sim. I had to unlearn much of what I had learned when I started playing SW Squadrons.
I bet you had fun switching from yaw on your pedals to roll, and likewise from roll on the x stick axis to yaw.
That's one transition have a hard as hell time with--no way I can fly Elite and Star Citizen at the same time. At the moment, I'm back in the pedals = roll camp, but Elite "space legs" comes out in a few months...
If you wanted, you can program the yaw to the stick and the roll to the pedals in Squadrons.
Right, but from what I've watched on twitch, it is a very yaw-centric aiming scheme, unlike Elite and flight sims in general, which are very roll oriented.
Right, but from what I've watched on twitch, it is a very yaw-centric aiming scheme, unlike Elite and flight sims in general, which are very roll oriented.
Yup, this is exactly it and it took me 2-3 missions in Squadrons until I got used to it.
How many of you are still playing this? I'm almost done with the single player campaign and I've been enjoying it for the most part. It took me a few missions to get comfortable with my joystick assignments/mappings but now the combat flows much more easily for me.
Soon I plan on trying out the cooperative mode against the AI. I don't do head to head.
How many of you are still playing this? I'm almost done with the single player campaign and I've been enjoying it for the most part. It took me a few missions to get comfortable with my joystick assignments/mappings but now the combat flows much more easily for me.
Soon I plan on trying out the cooperative mode against the AI. I don't do head to head.
There is a group on the Discord that plays. Best way to Co-op, I think, is to share EA account names and add as friends that way, best for crossplay, anyways.
Otherwise, if you have it on Steam you can look up steam names.
I was looking forward mainly to PVP, as I find AI very dull, but without Track IR support I have had to pass.
Interestingly... I figured out how to hack Track IR support into No Man's Sky this week, finally, after much tinkering. It requires a combination of vJoy, a python FreePIE script and x360ce to link it into my 360 controller's right thumbstick. Works pretty well.
I finally finished the campaign yesterday and I thought the story was pretty good. It's definitely no worse than the stories we got with the 90's era XWing and Tie Fighter games.
I picked it up and only tinkered with it a few minutes, but am having a difficult time configuring my Thrustmaser throttle. It sees my Thrustaster Warthog joystick, it sees my Saitek rudder pedals, and it sees my Logitech G13 controller, but not the Warthog throttle (nor the Thrustmaster MFDs, but those are of secondary concern).
I am thinking that it sees only 3 devices, so it just lists the first 3 that it sees and stops. If that is true, then I would need to unplug some of the devices and plug them back in or something, to try to get them in the correct order, but that might screw up other settings and I'm not sure it would be worth the hassle. There might be another work-around, so I'll have to research it.
Disregard. Seems the creator of this mod won't reply in video thread and reddit thread when asked about why one of programs is reporting as "suspicious activity" by Kaspersky antivirus. Also, youtube and reddit accounts are brand new and created to release this "mod."
Until I get proper replies, please consider this an attempt at infecting rather well off user computers for whatever nefarious means.
I must admit that the lack of TrackIR was most definitely a downer but it was not a game-killer for me concerning SW: Squadrons. And besides, I plan on finally getting a VR set before the year is out.
So my friend and I played a cooperative vs. AI fleet battle on Sunday and then we had to wait and wait and wait for the matchmaking to find enough human players to play a second round.
Not surprisingly, it seems the vast majority of people only do the "dogfight" or the head to head fleet battles.
Well it seems this game came and went quickly and most players have moved on to something else. I hardly see anyone from my friends list playing this anymore and the online community seems to have dwindled based on how long it takes for me to find other players for fleet battles.
That's the problem with these multiplayer only games, as soon as the fickle mob has decreed it's done with it, then you are too whether you want to be or not.
That's the problem with these multiplayer only games, as soon as the fickle mob has decreed it's done with it, then you are too whether you want to be or not.
Which is a big reason generally dislike multiplayer games, along with streaming services, etc. I do not care for anyone else deciding what I should do for entertainment.
Overall, why the modern video game industry is not spitting out Star Wars games left and right (or I suppose more correctly why Disney is not letting them do so) is one of the great mysteries of the universe. OT and even CW material sells lick bottled water at a salt eating convention.
Well it seems this game came and went quickly and most players have moved on to something else. I hardly see anyone from my friends list playing this anymore and the online community seems to have dwindled based on how long it takes for me to find other players for fleet battles.
This was a reason, more than the lack of Track IR support, that I did not buy the game. I've seen over the years far too many niche multiplayer only games die out in a month after release. The lack of developer support here was a big turnoff.
Well it seems this game came and went quickly and most players have moved on to something else. I hardly see anyone from my friends list playing this anymore and the online community seems to have dwindled based on how long it takes for me to find other players for fleet battles.
This was a reason, more than the lack of Track IR support, that I did not buy the game. I've seen over the years far too many niche multiplayer only games die out in a month after release. The lack of developer support here was a big turnoff.
The single player campaign is well made but its major drawback is that it is so short. It took me about 12 hours to finish it. The game undoubtedly was made with a focus on MP so it will live or die based on the online community.
Overall, why the modern video game industry is not spitting out Star Wars games left and right (or I suppose more correctly why Disney is not letting them do so) is one of the great mysteries of the universe. OT and even CW material sells lick bottled water at a salt eating convention.
Disney/EA have made several SW games over the past few years but most of them have fallen short of sales expectations. Is that because the expectations were too high or because the games just weren't very good? I've played the two SW Battlefield games and while they are enjoyable the novelty wears off after a few hours of game play. However, Jedi Knight: Fallen Order got rave reviews and I really enjoyed that game. It was both a commercial and critical hit.
Not counting mobile/hand-held only games, single-platform console games, or "arcade" games
In the 9 years since Disney (2012-2020):
2015: Battlefront 2017: Battlefront II 2019: Jedi: Fallen Order 2020: Squadrons
In the last 9 years under LucasArts prior to the Disney venture (2003-2011):
2003: Galaxies: An Empire Divided 2003: Knights of the Old Republic 2003: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy 2004: Battlefront 2005: Battlefront II 2005: Revenge of the Sith 2005: Republic Commando 2006: Empire at War/Forces of Corruption 2008: The Force Unleashed 2009: Republic Heroes 2010: Clone Wars Adventures 2010: The Force Unleashed II 2011: The Old Republic
I haven't had much time to play this yet but I've enjoyed the little bit I have. Its not the old xwing vs tie games but its more in depth than battlefront. I also just read the latest patch includes track ir support along with the B-wing and Tie defender. Not interested so much in online other than coop against the PC.
I haven't had much time to play this yet but I've enjoyed the little bit I have. Its not the old xwing vs tie games but its more in depth than battlefront. I also just read the latest patch includes track ir support along with the B-wing and Tie defender. Not interested so much in online other than coop against the PC.
I've played both the Fleet battles vs. AI and the Ranked match Fleet battles and both are a lot of fun. The irony is that I've found the enemy AI on "normal" difficulty to be just as much of a challenge as the human opponents I've fought against.
The key here is that you can't let yourself get upset over getting killed often because everyone gets killed often in the Fleet battles. The important thing is winning the match by destroying the enemy capital ship.
