DICE published a new Community Transmission message to address some upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront 2 appearances changes and fixes
This message details upcoming changes and tweaks to several appearances and explains how and why the studio plans to handle them in relation to other upcoming updates for the game and the Roadmap schedule.
In the previous update to the game, entitled The Elite Corps, DICE introduced the new 327th Elite Corpse appearance. The model they used was a named character from the Clone Wars TV Show – Clone Commander CC-5052, nick-named Bly. Don’t know or can’t remember who that was, Let me refresh your memory with a short quote from the Star Wars Databank Archives:
A veteran of many Clone Wars battles, Clone Commander Bly (clone designation CC-5052) served in the 327th Star Corps on such worlds as Quell, Maridun, and Felucia. Bly developed a close working relationship with Jedi General Aayla Secura, who was always reassured to know the dependable clone trooper had her back.
The fan community spotted several differences between Bly’s appearance in comparison to what a normal armor suit of a regular trooper from the 327th Star Corpse should look like. You know how we, the Star Wars fans, are… every little detail matters to us!
Based on players feedback and suggestions, the studio has decided to alter the appearance to match the appearances of the regular troopers. This, however, cannot happen within the September update, DICE’s community manager Ben Walke said. He also provided additional information on why it’s impossible:
…because of the way an update deployment works, all content for September is already locked in what we call “Final” and changing designs now would impact the whole update.
The September update is already approved for release and will be delivered “as is”. There is another interesting fact, though. The two new appearances – 91st and 104th – that are included, will also need some fixes later on for similar reasons:
The changes we are planning to make to the 91st focus on a mirroring issue of the symbols on both the arms and legs. It is also worth noting that the 91st will not have red pauldrons as they are inspired by the “standard” troopers in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.
The 104th also has mirrored shoulder pads, something we’ll address by making one grey and one striped to match the reference.
We wanted to talk a little bit about why these changes are happening. The mirroring issue mentioned is a technical issue and one we are working to resolve. Aside from tech, there are also design choices. The initial look of the Clone Troopers comes down to a number of these design choices and inspiration references. Readability of classes is an important aspect for any game that has an online multiplayer component, and where possible we do try to make appearances that allow you to distinguish the class of Trooper.
To prevent disturbance in the Roadmap plans and upcoming content updates, these fixes are planned for an additional hotfix patch that will be implemented in-between others and will address the appearances’ inconsistencies with the Star Wars canon.
If you like, you can read the full Community Transmission, as it was posted on the Star Wars: Battlefront 2 Forums:
Community Transmission: Clone Trooper Appearances
With the recent release of the Elite Corps update, the topic of appearances has never been more prominent within our community. As I’ve said before, we very much appreciate the passion that you have, not just for the Battlefront series, but for Star Wars as a whole.
We saw all the discussion around the way the 327th Star Corps were received; we read your feedback and watched your videos. Many of you have commented on the authenticity of these appearances and we are working very closely with our friends at Lucasfilm to ensure accuracy in-game.
With that, we can confirm that we will be making changes to the current 327th Star Corps appearances, which were modelled after Clone Commander Bly. The modified appearances will be inspired by standard 327th Star Corps troopers and will arrive in a future update this winter.As part of your feedback, we have also reviewed both the 91st Mobile Reconnaissance Corps and the 104th “Wolf Pack” Battalion Clone Troopers, which are part of the September update. We have determined that there are some design changes that need to be implemented for both trooper styles. However, because of the way an update deployment works, all content for September is already locked in what we call “Final” and changing designs now would impact the whole update.
Therefore, rather than delay the September release, we will move forward as planned and will release another update at a later time that will make changes to both the 91st and 104th. By releasing the update as scheduled, we better ensure that we can keep to our Roadmap cadence for future updates. It will also let you play with the new appearances, allowing you to manage your credit balances ahead of the release of General Grievous in October.
The changes we are planning to make to the 91st focus on a mirroring issue of the symbols on both the arms and legs. It is also worth noting that the 91st will not have red pauldrons as they are inspired by the “standard” troopers in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.
The 104th also has mirrored shoulder pads, something we’ll address by making one grey and one striped to match the reference.
We wanted to talk a little bit about why these changes are happening. The mirroring issue mentioned is a technical issue and one we are working to resolve. Aside from tech, there are also design choices. The initial look of the Clone Troopers comes down to a number of these design choices and inspiration references. Readability of classes is an important aspect for any game that has an online multiplayer component, and where possible we do try to make appearances that allow you to distinguish the class of Trooper.
Work is currently underway to fix all of the stated issues. Should you have already purchased the appearances in-game, you will receive the updated versions automatically with no re-purchase necessary.
Please do keep your feedback coming. Your passion continues to energise and drive us forward.
Punch It
