Flametroopers confirmed for Battlefront II, devs comment on gameplay
First Order Flametroopers will be in Battlefront II
In a post earlier today, EA confirmed that Battlefront II will indeed feature First Order Flametroopers as “special characters”. These special characters (such as the Flametrooper or the Clone Jumptrooper) will appear on maps where their presence is “thematically appropriate”.
Here’s the post’s specific wording:
Special characters typically appear on maps where their presence is thematically appropriate. You’ll encounter First Order Flametroopers on Starkiller Base, but you’re not likely to see them on Theed.
Figurine version of the First Order Flametrooper by Hot Toys (Source).
Beyond that little tidbit, the post further hinted that Death Troopers will get a Sonic Imploder, just like their version from the 2015 Battlefront. Nothing much else is new, but the post did show off the image at the top of page of a Death Trooper on what’s presumbly Yavin IV.
It’s worth noting that concept art of First Order Flametroopers were shown off in a behind-the-scenes reel at Star Wars Celebration in April. However, this is the first official confirmation that the unit will be playable in-game.
Devs comment on some Battlefront II gameplay aspects
Members of Battlefront II’s development team have been busy answering some fan questions via Twitter recently. To start, the game’s associate design director, Dennis Brannvall, confirmed that heavy lightsaber attacks won’t be abilities in the new game:
not as an ability, but heavy swings will of course be part of their attack chains
— Dennis Brännvall (@DICE_FireWall) August 9, 2017
Next, producer Paul Keslin noted that (at least in the Alpha build) the hitbox for clones and droids is the same:
In our Alpha they had the same hit box.
— Paul Keslin (@TheVestalViking) August 3, 2017
From a competitive standpoint, having the same hitbox makes sense and I really doubt it’ll change once Battlefront II arrives on November 17.
Modding work continues for expanded Skirmish in Battlefront
A modder who goes by the name Darth Kenobi has recently shared some of their progress modding the Skirmish mode of the 2015 Battlefront.
Of note, they’ve managed to load both Blast and Supremacy maps offline via Skirmish. However, the maps still lack AI units or accurate scoreboards. I assume both will be somewhat tricky to wrangle! Check out the progress below, with Blast up first:
Here’s Supremacy loaded offline:
Jedi Knight II gets a VR mod
As reported by UploadVR, modder Jochen Leopold has crafted a VR mod for the 2002 classic Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. The mod itself is playable on the Oculus Rift and uses a gamepad for control instead of the Rift’s Oculus Touch controllers.
Here’s a video featuring gameplay of the mod:
