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DICE Responds to Star Wars Battlefront II Beta Lootcrate Controversy

Ristifer

Member
Damned if they do, damned if they don't?

Are people glossing over the part where the best stuff is in-game unlock only and the part where if you get a really good card from a crate you still have to level up in game to use it?

Do people prefer a SWBF1 situation where hugely overpowered heroes, weapons, and abilities are locked behind a Season Pass pay wall that costs almost as much as the base game?
The fact that they have to respond over a controversy in the first place means they've mishandled something.

You know, it would be different if DICE came out and said, "Look, we understand the frustration, so we're going to pull back on this... yada yada yada." But instead, they give us a bunch of fluff, and we're supposed to feel like it's all okey dokey? We've seen this over and over, where people are appeased because of reasons, and then about a month after the game's release, you start to realize that it wasn't all flowers and rainbows per their explanation. It's like a weird cycle where people take the word of a company trying to take their money. It's mind-boggling.
 
Still sounds like Pay2Win.

Not all cards being in loot boxes changes nothing.

"Hey not all 150 cards are in loot boxes. Only 120!"

Fuck off EA.
 
Should have just cut out all the weapons and upgrades and star cards from the crate system, and just went cosmetics, it was good enough for Overwatch, and I think they would have made a lot more money not forcing people to buy loot boxes, because people wont out of defiance, but what nerds really can't help but to buy, completely inane useless shit like skins.
 

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
I need a much more detailed breakdown of how it works and how in game progression is handled before I consider buying it. This just sounds like they’re explaining some added mitigating factors from the final game but not any actual changes. I enjoyed the gameplay in the beta quite a bit but I can’t support the type of economy it had in the beta.
 

Lt.Chips

Member
At least the loot crates do not affect the single player campaign... right?

I'm in for single player this time (when was the last time we had a full blown, supposedly canon Star Wars campaign in a game?). And the story not being written by DICE makes me doubly excited for it.
 

gogosox82

Member
A little late on this statement aren't we dice? And it still sounds like pay2win. Don't think this is going to help the image around this game.
 

Audioboxer

Member
Man that is such an insidious way of framing it. It's even more subtle than the way publishers usually try to frame microtransactions as some sort of selfless act that's a favour to people who have too much gosh darn money.

At least they're being honest.

as well as for players who are short on time and would like to move faster in their progress towards various rewards

Notice me EA!

sCbqmhr.gif


Okay

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My friends knew I had to go fast, now I can.

I unearthed this gem from 2011 again the other day, people should relisten to it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR6-u8OIJTE

For comedic effect, I've added the Emperor's Theme from Star Wars to his talk... it seems appropriate, as EA Bioware is developing the new Star Wars MMORPG (hopefully microtransaction free!)

Now isn't that just perfect for this topic?
 

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
At least the loot crates do not affect the single player campaign... right?

I'm in for single player this time (when was the last time we had a full blown, supposedly canon Star Wars campaign in a game?). And the story not being written by DICE makes me doubly excited for it.
They’ve shown nothing from the campaign except prerendered cutscenes and gif length gameplay snippets buried in other trailers. I have zero faith it’ll be worth playing. Would love to be wrong though.
 
I hope reviewers tear this game apart

Yeah unfortunatly the entirety of the game can't be based off one aspect of the game. I played the beta and the mutliplayer is really fucking good. The Single player might be as well. I'm guessing mid to high 8's maybe 7's if the loot system ends up really being bad
 

Piscus

Member
Is there some huge, untapped "short on time" demographic that I haven't been aware of? Why are companies pushing pay-to-win features as "accomodating for those poor, busy gamers" that don't have the time to - of all things - just play the game?
 

RavenHawk

Member
And lastly, you have to earn the right to be able to upgrade Star Cards and unlock most Weapons. You can only upgrade or unlock them if you have reached a high enough rank, which is determined by playing the game.

During the beta, my classes only gained ranks from the star cards. Did they change the entire progression system?
 

Bad7667

Member
I really hate the loot crates but not just because of the usual reasons they suck, but its that the entire progression system is tied to them. There is zero enjoyment from playing the game to receive credits to then "purchase" a loot crate and hope to get something for a class I enjoy playing.

This statement does seem to fix some of that from the beta but I'm not sure its enough for me to buy it.
 
Reads like PR speak to me because of one single word they included there:

As a balance goal, we're working towards having the most powerful items in the game only earnable via in-game achievements.

The word is GOAL, and it basically means they can do whatever the fuck they want and just say that they had some "goal" that never gets met.
 

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
Is there some huge, untapped "short on time" demographic that I haven't been aware of? Why are companies pushing pay-to-win features as "accomodating for those poor, busy gamers" that don't have the time to - of all things - just play the game?
Battlefield is the only time I’ve seen shortcuts done right. They were only added many months after launch and you could choose what category of unlocks you wanted and get most things for that class or weapon type, no RNG involved. Some of these were included in the Premium Editions as well.
 

Voidwolf

Member
I'm glad they finally spoke up, I'm also not surprised to see so many people try to maintain an unreasonable level of anger even after the fact. I'm sure they will continue to tweak the system until it's fair, and I look forward to seeing all the haters playing the game regardless of what they're saying now. Because let's face it guys. It's Star Wars and you're all gonna get it eventually.
 
Make sure you read the quote in the OP. Then re-read it. Keep re-reading it over and over until the words start to blend together and the meaning starts to fade away. Keep reading it. Never stop reading it
 
This sounds a lot better. Can't believe they didn't do this beforehand and mentioned it right after dropping the beta instead of after. A lot of damage has been done by the online media outlets.
 

Seik

Banned
I rather have a clean ass when get my pants up than still having a some shit on there.

Hard pass, the price tag is laughable with such a glaring F2P system on there.
 

zpiders

Member
Still won't touch this with a barge pole. We need to take a stand against this shit. You give publishers like EA a small slice of the cake and they will sooner or later want the whole cake.
 

Z3M0G

Member
This beta was a litmus test of how far they could push the p2w system without ever hinting these additional reward systems even exist... nothing more.
 

farisr

Member
So it's still shit. It just doesn't stink as bad.

I'm not impressed.
Basically, but just like the FM7 VIP changes, some people are pretending like now that they've announced that it'll change a bit, people that still have an issue with it are being unreasonable. lol
 

Listonosh

Member
I honestly don't see how this system is any better. Those who pump a 100 bucks into the game and end up getting a shitload of duplicates can still craft anything they'll set their sights on. Just because they can't use it right away, doesn't mean they still won't have the advantage as soon as they hit the level when they can
 

Clockwork5

Member
Is there some huge, untapped "short on time" demographic that I haven't been aware of? Why are companies pushing pay-to-win features as "accomodating for those poor, busy gamers" that don't have the time to - of all things - just play the game?
Yes there are a lot of people who don't have time to sink dozens or hundreds of hours into a single game and those people tend to have disposable income they value less than their free time.
 

belvedere

Junior Butler
In the not too distant future beside a barrel fire under a bridge of forgotten hopes, when we're regaling our grandchildren in the tales of this foul year of our lord twenty seventeen, they'll look upon us as we describe how our last dime was spent.

Not on healthcare reform, not on opposing Trump, Brexit or hate groups.

On a Boba Fett jetpack endurance star card.
 
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Just watched the Jim Sterling video about Battlefront 2, and he says that you level up in BF2 by how many cards you've acquired, which seems like the collection based leveling you find in Warframe (Mastery Rank) and Forza 7 (Car Tiers).

If that's the case, and EA/DICE is now stating that you have to earn the right to unlock the more powerful Star Card effects by leveling up, and you level up by having more cards, than that is just more pay-to-win because shelling out cash will get you more cards and at a much faster rate than playing the game.
 

shimon

Member
Why didn't they say anything before the beta? Why wait until gamers call them out on their bullshit system? Bc testing waters,that's why.

Fuck off with your "slightly less shitty" system.
 

kendrid

Banned
During the beta, my classes only gained ranks from the star cards. Did they change the entire progression system?

Same here. My son asked me "did you play Scout a lot? It is leveled up?" Nope, I didn't play it, the star cards leveled it up. That makes no sense at all since I suck at sniping.
 

Audioboxer

Member
Also, that's the worst example of microtransactions in the world. They're basically locking their main mode behind a paywall. In no way that is similar to a "25% more damage!" powerup from Battlefront II.

That may be the case. I'm more so hinting to that poster that reviewers can take a stance, but when they do the publishers sometimes come calling like Death wanting to know why they're being mean.

It's bad enough for them when they give a game 8/10 and gamers start bombing them on Twitter screaming why did they give the best game ever an 8? Gamers don't provide them with press access/preview builds and review copies though. Hence why any publisher trying to exert pressure or force on any journalist is ethically frowned up. It's an abuse of power. "Polite emails" and "just asking questions" really straddles the line.
 

Fbh

Member
Sounds a bit better, specially the part about locking weapons behind a certain level.
But, it still sounds too much like Pay2Win for a $60 game and, more importantly, it still sounds like the vast majority of the progression is locked behind loot boxes.

How many crafting materials you are able to get and how much they give you for duplicates will also be important.
 

Z3M0G

Member
gc5rtWY.gif


Just watched the Jim Sterling video about Battlefront 2, and he says that you level up in BF2 by how many cards you've acquired, which seems like the collection based leveling you find in Warframe (Mastery Rank) and Forza 7 (Car Tiers).

If that's the case, and EA/DICE is now stating that you have to earn the right to unlock the more powerful Star Card effects, than that is just more pay-to-win because shelling out cash will get you more cards and faster than playing the game.
Oh yes, EA only wanted to assure us that you can also earn them while playing the game. It is still pay to win.
 

Kemal86

Member
I read this, and don’t understand how it’s different from the beta. I see posts saying “Good, sounds much better than the beta.”

Someone please explain the difference.
 

Fluloco

Member
That may be the case. I'm more so hinting to that poster that reviewers can take a stance, but when they do the publishers sometimes come calling like Death wanting to know why they're being mean.

It's bad enough for them when they give a game 8/10 and gamers start bombing them on Twitter screaming why did they give the best game ever an 8? Gamers don't provide them with press access/preview builds and review copies though. Hence why any publisher trying to exert pressure or force on any journalist is ethically frowned up. It's an abuse of power. "Polite emails" and "just asking questions" really straddles the line.
I agree with you, and I appreciate that some outlets are treating this hard. Sadly the last word is in the consumer's wallet, and even if the hardcore audience might be fighting to remove this, the remaining 90% of the players won't really care (especially in a name like Star Wars)
 
EA forces them to implement microtransactions and then forces them to justify it through PR all whilst making it seem it’s all down to the developer how it’s implemented.
 
I will ask again since no one replied the first time. I have never played a Battlefront before, so can someone explain what a Star Card is? I want to know what non cosmetic shit is in the loot box to decide if I am buying this or not. Thanks.
 
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