Battlefront: DICE plays coy with Hero Blast news; 3rd-person “here to stay”
The future of Hero Blast in Battlefront remains uncertain as DICE continues to keep tight lips on the potential mode.
Battlefront producer Paul Keslin most recently responded about the previously-leaked hero-centric mode in a tweet:
@swbattlefront_c @BFCaptures Nothing to say right now unfortunately. We'll comment one way or another when the time comes.
— Paul Keslin (@TheVestalViking) February 11, 2017
Keslin’s words echo another tweet he wrote last week.
I wasn’t originally going to report on Keslin’s comments as they aren’t very surprising; however, the fact that DICE isn’t ruling out the mode is somewhat intriguing.
EA and DICE clearly stated at the end of last month that Skirmish won’t be seeing any further support in the current Battlefront. However, Hero Blast remains up in the air. Especially when coupled with other comments hinting that support on the current Battlefront isn’t done just yet, it appears possible that Hero Blast just might happen at some point.
The Hero Blast mode key image (found in game code by Uninspired Zebra).
If DICE has fully decommitted from Hero Blast, it seems plausible that they would fully shut the door on its future, like they did with additional Skirmish support. Still, it looks like we’ll have to see what the future holds.
For those unaware, Hero Blast is an unreleased mode that was discovered last September in game code by data miner Uninspired Zebra. The mode appeared to focus on six-versus-six hero combat and function similarly to regular Blast, which is Battlefront’s take on the classic team deathmatch mode. According to Uninspired Zebra, the mode is supported on all maps that include regular Blast.
In other news, DICE Associate Designer Director and former lead designer for Battlefront Dennis Brannvall tweeted that the third-person, over-the-shoulder view is likely here stay in Battlefront:
@Toxemic_Roach about one third of our players play in 3rd person, so it feels like it's here to stay
— Dennis Brännvall (@DICE_FireWall) February 12, 2017
Brannvall’s comments seem to indicate that the third-person view will be included in this year’s sequel.
This is something I’m glad to see. I consider third-person a defining featuring for the original Battlefront’s and I was overjoyed to see DICE carry it over into their take on the franchise. It also helps set Battlefront apart from other shooters, like Battlefield or Call of Duty, which rely heavily on first-person experiences.
What does surprise me is that Brannvall wrote that only one-third of Battlefront players use third-person. As third-person provides something of an advantage when going around corners, it seems reasonable to assume that more players would utilize it. However, first-person can offer greater immersion for some players.
Finally, Brannvall recently touched on combining all Fighter Squadron DLC maps into a single playlist:
@KoolestInDaygo I would love to see it. We'll try!
— Dennis Brännvall (@DICE_FireWall) February 10, 2017
For the expansions, Fighter Squadron has one map on Bespin, two above the Death Star and one above Scarif.
I would honestly be shocked if DICE toyed with the playlists much more. With that said, I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing playlists getting reworked to allow players greater choice over what DLC content they play.
Brannvall has previously touched on a feature that would allow players the ability to choose a DLC mode and stay in it. However, he last talked about that in September and nothing has come of it yet.
(Top image by Cinematic Captures. Check out their Flickr page for more awesome Battlefront content. Second image source. Third image also by Cinematic Captures.)
