Star Wars Battlefront III: completed and canceled by LucasArts

[ALF]

I honestly was starting to wonder if the truth about this doomed game would ever be revealed. I'm pretty much floored. I still play Battlefront I and II. I'm working on a Galactic Conquest campaign on BFI right now.

In my opinion, LucasArts hasn't put out a playable game since BFII in 2005. It's incredulous: LucasArts had a basically completed game in BFIII... and axed it due to a lack of marketing commitment.

"The break was all the more galling as the first LucasArts project was almost complete, says Ellis. "It was pretty much done, it was in final QA. It had been in final QA for half of 2008 it was just being fixed for release."

"LucasArts' opinion is that when you launch a game you have to spend big on the marketing and they're right. But at that time they were, for whatever reason, unable to commit to spending big. They effectively canned a game that was finished."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-04-26-the-collapse-of-free-radical-design

This article about the collapse of Free Radical Design explains a lot... the bit about ordering Battlefront IV blows my mind wide open.

A new president takes over the company. Axes start falling. The same old corporate craptastic story is vomited up filling in all the blanks.

I can't see anything there explaining the reason that PSP Battefront titles can still be released but not console titles. Presumably the rights to produce the game died with the cancellation of III and IV... otherwise it would be a painfully simple matter of hiring another game developer. Those PSP releases take the game direction (planet to space in battle, etc) but the controls are terrible, especially the jedi.

You are dead to me, LucasArts.
Someone should consider storming the castle and stealing that game! Where's the 501st? Activate a jedi hero and start taking some of those command posts.

I can't believe it's sitting in a drawer somewhere.

 

[Harvey]

Whatever happened to LucasArts, anyway? They used to be one of the best video game companies out there. Their PC adventure games from the 1990s are some of the best that were ever produced. The X-Wing series produced at least two classics of the fighter sim genre. Dark Forces was the best Doom clone out there, and the series only got better with each installment.

For the past five or six years, though...there hasn't been much. Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (and the Emperor's Tomb, for that matter) quenched my thirst for punching and shooting as the title character, but were average games at best.

 

[Reverend]

^And the rest. Lucasarts has been mostly crap since the turn of the century (OK, feels weird putting it like that.) Almost as soon as TPM was released it's done little else but churn out low quality SW titles. You can probably count on one hand the number of *good* games they've made in the past decade and none of them compare to what they produced in the 90's.

 

[Mr Light]

I am dying for Star Wars Battlefront III

 

[Reverend]

You know, I've never played the Battlefront games. I did check out an LP on youtube, but honestly it didn't look very good. But then I don't think I've played any new SW games since Republic Commando...and before that it was Jedi Academy, or Starfighter II (whichever is the more recent.)

 

[Kelthaz]

I played the first Battlefront, but it was nothing more than a poor man's version of Battlefield. I'd rather play that.

 

[Yevetha]

They need to make a continuation to their damm Republic Commando game already.

 

[Reverend]

^I must admit I did get a bit of a kick out of seeing them in the Clone Wars cartoon.

 

[Yevetha]

Hopefully they get to do some action in season 5.

 

[Skywalker]

IIRC they were planning on doing a sequel to Republic Commando, but they canceled it pretty early on. Yet another poor decision by the 21st century LucasArts, considering FPS games have only gotten bigger since 2005.

 

[ALF]

I played the first Battlefront, but it was nothing more than a poor man's version of Battlefield. I'd rather play that.

While that may be true, Battlefield does not let players play as beloved heroes and villains from the Star Wars universe. I'm willing to get a less-than stellar shooter as long as I can play for control of Cloud City or Mos Eisley with Bothans, Wookies and Stormtroopers.

I am dying for Star Wars Battlefront III

Me too... unfortunately this new light on the matter I think is the final nail in the coffin.

It sounds like we'll get BFIII... never.

Maybe there's a chance that it'll be developed through a loophole to do it online (MMO) but I won't be playing.

BFII still has tremendous replay value. I'll stick with that. The Force Unleashed was a decent game, but nothing about it makes me want to replay it... that's what was so great about the Star Wars: Battlefront series. I'm not impressed by The Old Republic, but I'm not wired to enjoy multiplayer games anyway.

Quick action skirmishes are being weeded out of games... why? To allocate development $$$ to online experiences. Such a shortsighted cash grab. I don't need a narrative to enjoy a game. When I play, it's usually a half hour of free time that I'm killing... which is perfect for the "Instant Action" mode Battlefront employs.

I wonder if the fan modding community is able to make BFIII on their own. The Total Conversion Pack for BFII looks interesting, but I've never been able to install it correctly.

http://starwarsbattlefront.filefront.com/file/Star_Wars_Battlefront_Conversion_Pack;94154

The big change that would have taken BFIII to new levels was the engine mechanic that allows players to go back and forth from space to land during the same battle. It's quite fun on the PSP, despite having shitty controls overall.

 

[Owain Taggart]

How can a game be complete and yet be cancelled? That's definitely puzzling. If the company paid the dev studio behind it and got so far as to see its completion, then it would seem they'd lose more money by sitting on it than they would selling it.

And yeah, I agree, LucasArts used to be great. I think they've lost their magic. What I'd love to see them do is return to the franchises that were popular for them. I'm not just talking Star Wars all the time, but classic point and click franchises even if it means Telltale make them, like a Maniac Mansion sequel, or even a new Indy Adventure, and maybe even a new X-Wing. Anything to get them out of this slump.

 

[Jono]

^ News towards the end of last year was that LucasArts was hiring people to work on an RPG, FPS and flight combat games so it will be interesting to see what, if anything, comes from that.

 

[ALF]

LucasArts was hiring people to work on an RPG, FPS and flight combat games..

Sadly, Battlefront was so well crafted and varied in scope and sandbox flexibility that it gave us all three in one game.
Now LucasArts has to sell three games instead of one.

...

Waitaminute.... It's all starting to make sense!

 

[Mr Light]

I played two games endlessly before work for a 2-3 year period; Mario Kart and Star Wars Battlefront II

 

[TheGodBen]

You know, I've never played the Battlefront games. I did check out an LP on youtube, but honestly it didn't look very good.

There are a few reasons why Battlefront stood out.

1) Really diverse maps. From the streets of Mos Eisley to the ice plains of Hoth, from the forests of Endor to the sky platforms over Bespin, each map was distinct visually as well as in play-style. It kept things interesting. And Battlefront 2 included space combat as well which mixed things up even more.

2) Some fun unique classes. Each faction had different special units, the CIS had that rolling heavy-droid, the clone troopers had a guy with a jet pack, and their were a few others. BF2 also had Jedi and Sith. It was good fun to jet-pack behind enemies, or to charge them with a lightsaber.

3) Unique vehicles. The game had the usual tanks and planes you get in other shooters, but it was a tonne of fun to commandeer an AT-AT and rain death down upon tiny rebel troopers, or to fly a snow-speeder and attempt to pull off the trip-wire trick. And of course the space combat in BF2 was amazingly fun, you could either fly an X-Wing and play it like a regular flight combat game, or you could try and board the enemy capital ship and take it down from the inside.

The AI was weak and the controls needed some tightening, but there was enough unique about the games to keep them fun and interesting. I'm not normally an online shooter player, and I'm not that big a Warsie, but I'd love a Battlefront 3 with improved AI and physics.

 

[Mr Light]

The best part of all was playing the Jedi/Sith in II It was so awesome to super run and super jump around the map, slicing peons to pieces, and running into the other Hero/Villain character and trying to kill them before your timer runs out.

I found the space combat in II about worthless, though. It was nigh impossible to follow and target the other fighters, and the enemy AI never actually attempted to board your cruiser and attack it within.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

The space combat in BF2 was pretty weak, but then I was comparing it to the superb X-Wing and TIE Fighter games. Sigh.

 

[ALF]

The space combat in BF2 was pretty weak, but then I was comparing it to the superb X-Wing and TIE Fighter games. Sigh.

Yep, no question about that.
Still, I'm pretty satisfied with the experience in general. It's playable. It takes practice but you can get pretty good at dogfighting if you work at it. The AI doing suicide runs is pretty silly though.

Rather than quote TheGodBen's enitre post, I'll say that I agree and add that it is the connection with the Star Wars saga that makes this game series a standout for all those reasons. Being able to jump on a Tauntuan and race across the pains of Hoth to jump off and commandeer an AT-AT to blow the shield generator... so much fun you can have with the sandbox approach to these maps. I never felt that way playing The Force Unleashed or any of the other poor efforts LucasArts has produced in recent years.

Those moments when the heroes clash... Vader vs. Leia on the Tantive IV, etc. are golden.
I think it depends on how big a Star Wars fan you are, rather than a FPS fan.