Update 21/09: Battlefront’s skill-based matchmaking system might have sounded like a one-size replacement for the server options we’ve come to expect on the PC, but that’s not the whole story. While a server browser is out of the question, DICE have told PlayStation LifeStyle that dedicated servers are in.
“It’s one of the hallmarks of making sure we deliver unparalleled online servers for the game,” said senior producer Jamie Keen.
Update 03/09: When approached for comment, EA reiterated that Battlefront will offer a “new skill based matchmaking system” in place of a server browser.
“Our servers will use a skill based matchmaking system to pair players together,” the publishers told PCGamesN. “Players just need to fire up the beta and select what game mode they want to play.”
It sounds like a simple system: accessible, but perhaps not conducive to arranged games.
Update 02/09: Via statements made on Reddit and Twitter, it’s been revealed that Battlefront will not have a server browser on PC. An odd change to be sure, though DICE are promising a “skill based matchmaking system” to replace it. That doesn’t really fix the problem of communities that wish to play together or the hosting of LAN parties, nor encourage an e-sports scene. Those might not be things on DICE’s priority list but they are on the minds of a lot of their playerbase. The reaction, as you can imagine, has been strongly negative.
Original Article:Well, DICE – if that is your real acronym – you thought you could pull the wool over our eyes. You sought to hide the fact that your new shooter is in fact the old one – but foolishly forgot to delete the word ‘Battle’ from the title. Now we’re onto you, and know thatStar Wars Battlefrontis exactly the same game as Battlefield 4 – but for the TIE Fighter noise that sounds like a motorway being punched in the throat.
Not so, says DICE general manager Patrick Bach: “I don’t think we have a single system in the game that is the same as in Battlefield.”
“They are as far apart as any shooter would be to any other shooter,” he told Official PlayStation Mag.
“I think people will be surprised that it’s even a DICE game in some cases. But I think that the quality of the game and the quality of the audio, the visuals, the emotion it evokes will hopefully feel very DICE.”
Even from afar, Battlefront can be seen shaping up very differently to your average Battlefield game – foregoing single player, and offering something called Fighter Squadron – a dedicated, 20-player aerial mode Joel had a chance to zip about in at Gamescom.
“It’s accessible in a way that piloting Battlefield’s vehicles never has been,” he gushed. “Much like the ground game, DICE haven’t felt the need to overcomplicate things. Simple, satisfying systems mesh with an incredibly evocative visual and soundscape to make what will surely be the definitive interactive Star Wars experience. Geez, I sound like I’m writing the press release…”
Let’s finish like the press release, then: Star Wars Battlefront will be available from November 17 on the PC and other boxes. Have its trailers awakened anything in you yet?