Star Wars: Battlefront 3 – if that’s what DICE finally decides to call it – hasn’t been seen or heard of since its brief E3 2013 announcement for PC and next gen consoles. In fact, the only news that’s come out about the game is that it will be put on hold along with all future Battlefield 4 DLC so that DICE can go about properly patching their flagship FPS.
Good things coming to those who wait/put up with shabby multiplayer launches and whatnot.
Despite the lack of information on the sequel, there’s still plenty from the past to draw from in terms of what DICE could implement. We’ve already seen what Frostbite 3 can do in a full-scale, AAA first person shooter. What does that mean for what Battlefront 3 could have? Well, for starters…
1. Keep Galactic Conquest as a Single-Player Option
In Battlefront 2, Galactic Conquest was somewhat of a Risk-style game in which you traversed the universe and conquered/protected planets. Colliding with other players causes you to head to the traditional FPS mode and combat said opposing forces on the planet. It looks basic, sure, but it opened up a lot in terms of gameplay, exploration and strategy, especially when you factored in level-ups and bonuses.
With the rise in multiplayer popularity since then (not to mention large multiplayer matches), it would only make sense that DICE would want Galactic Conquest to be more synonymous with their own brand of Conquest. It could work – heck, we’re sure it’ll be a blast – but we’d like to see Galactic Conquest kept as an option for single-player as well. Maybe there could be a way to fuse the single-player and multi-player prospects together to ease in new players. But again, there are some of us who are fine cruising through an intergalactic reign of conquest/terror on our lonesome.
2. AI Bots
Yes, we want something similar to Titanfall. Interestingly, Battlefront 2 already handled bots when you took to space or planet battles, having you control a single soldier while other units backed you up. But we’d like a variant of this for multiplayer as well. Large player caps are great and all but why not also come up with a solution for varying player caps and replacing the other units with bots?
It could help to get new players integrated all the more easily as they both learn the mechanics and understand the overall tone of matches. It could also give some leeway to DICE in terms of different map sizes since a lesser number of players could facilitate a tighter FPS pace overall. More importantly, if it hasn’t already, DICE will be able to properly balance out huge multiplayer matches and not worry about server troubles like the kind that have struck Battlefield 4. Speaking of which…
3. Bug Test, Bug Test, Bug Test
This is of paramount important. It’s not like DICE didn’t effectively test for bugs in Battlefield 4. But that’s depending on who you believe because, well, where else could also those bugs have come from since launch? Let’s not even get into the patches fixing one thing and then breaking something else, facilitating a vicious cycle of patchwork that will only server to further delay development on other projects.
Though we’d like to see a strong single-player element, it’s understandable that Battlefront 3 will have an even greater multiplayer emphasis than before. Factoring in all the different modes of progression, it only makes sense that players will find the lion’s share of enjoyment in the multiplayer modes alone. DICE needs to properly play-test and balance the game more than its previous titles in order to ensure the satisfaction at launch that Battlefield 4 couldn’t provide. As it is, there will only be 3 platforms to develop for this time so it shouldn’t be impossible.
4. Integrate Instant Action and Galactic Conquest
Cruising the galaxy and annexing planets to your own personal empire is top and all but there are some of us looking for simple mercenary work. Likewise, we’d like to feel like we’re part of a bigger machine and cooperate with other players towards objectives. So why not have a clan-like Empire system in which different players can join different allegiances and fight for them in Conquest battles? This means that if you go with an Instant Action option, you’ll be able to choose your allegiance and have it go towards a greater war effort.
It could be somewhat similar to PlanetSide 2 in terms of progression and alliances, and while it may seem like an entirely separate game on its own, it could be simplified to just allow players to cooperate in battles as part of another player’s army instead. Maybe confer some bonuses to your own troops depending on the feats achieved? There are a lot of different ways this could be handled. But one thing we can agree on is this…
5. Skip the Clone Wars
The Clone Wars formed the central conflict that eventually birthed the Galactic Empire as the Republic’s troops fought the Separatists’ droids. The problem is we’ve seen it all before and from multiple perspectives at that. Cartoons, video games, CG movie adaptations – you name it. While we doubt the next few Star Wars movies would be ready by the time Battlefront 3 rolls out, it would be great if DICE explored some of the novels in terms of events and lore to integrate. There’s still a lot to Star Wars that many fans aren’t aware of and it could form the basis for some excellent conflicts.
Sure, it may mean removing some factions like the Droids, but there must be some way to integrate them without needing to focus on a war that takes place between easily two of the worst sci-fi films ever made.
What would you like to see in Battlefront 3? Let us know in the comments below.
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