Before we begin, we would like to note that a lot of what you are about to see is a work in progress and the final product(s) may change from what you see here.
Tutorial
Over the past few months we have slowly progressed towards the first release of the tutorials. The first thing you will notice when starting up the game after the initial release is a new popup that asks you whether or not you would like to play the tutorial. If you click yes it will take you into the first tutorial. If no it will take you to the main menu, and remember your choice for the next time you launch. If you decide not to do the tutorial right away you can then hit the graduation cap icon to access the list of tutorials, their requirements, and completion status.
Since we last spoke about the tutorials themselves code work has steadily progressed. We now have the ability to detect when specific keys are pressed and have actions in the map completed based off of that input. We now also have the ability to track when the user presses items in a menu as well as the ability to show and hide menu content based on tutorial completion status. In addition, changing a person's class and modifying console commands to, for example, turn parts of the HUD on and off, are now possible on the fly by the level. We can also track and save the progress of users through the various tutorials.
In the tutorials themselves, more and more polish has been done to fix various issues found by testers, music added, and the features mentioned above implemented.
Soon once the last few bugs are fixed we will be releasing the initial version of the first two tutorials and part of the user interface upgrades into the wild. Once that is done we can begin round 2 of upgrades for the tutorials that will add features like cinematics into MB2 to aid in giving a good first impression to new players. Which will also means we can go full force into creating the next set of tutorials once the feature set is complete. Features like cinematics and popups may also be used down the line to give players real time tips on their gameplay, instructions on a levels objectives, and enhancements round start countdowns/end-match situations.
Below are some of the work in progress models you may see once cinematics are ready to go.
New Game Modes / Objectives
Plans for this year include several new gamemodes / objective types. The first of which likely to see a live build being Progressive Siege, followed by hopefully Payload and then Conquest.
Progressive Siege
Progressive siege is an extremely simple game mode designed to allow a campaign across a larger map / scenario without a load screen and within MB2's ruleset. It allows a level designer to set up multiple map areas as if they were completely different maps with differing spawns and objectives. The amount of areas and even the amount of time per area can also vary.
Based on the choice of the level designer, the level can progress based on several win or lose factors. A level can progress or regress by completing the objective, killing the entire enemy team, or by winning on time. It can also do that by just one of those options, and it is entirely up to the level designer which combination they want to use that best suits the scenario.
As we don't have any new levels that will be ready when the mode itself is we will be releasing the BaseJKA siege maps as a part of this mode. The first of which being Siege Desert, and possibly Siege Korriban depending on your voting in the poll below. Please fully read before voting!
Siege Desert
Siege desert isn't exactly the same as you remember it. At the current time, it is set up in 4 map sections. The first and third sections of the map have a three minute time limit, while the second and third have a full 5 minute time limit. Many optimizations and fixes have been made map wise to help performance even more on an open level. Emplaced guns have been removed from the level due to their bugs.
The first section of the map has had the objective changed slightly. It still has the two wall sections, but it is now a shoot -> bomb plant -> shoot style objective instead of relying on an e-web to destroy it.
The second section of the map has largely been unmodified thus far, save for having the turrets automatically enabled, and allowing all classes to hack into each security station in addition to being able to destroy the outer consoles. A few minor ramps up to the roof tops have also been added.
The third section of the map has been heavily modified adding many routes around the rancor pit but the main objective remains the same.
The fourth and final section of the map has seen some of the same changes from section 2. Turrets are automatically enabled, all classes can hack panels and several ramps to rooftops have been added. However, there have also been some significant changes to the area surrounding the objective to make it easier to disable the force fields, and to have multiple routes into the objective area.
Siege Korriban
Korriban will be split up into two sections. The first section of the map where you destroy the initial gate is removed and the first stage takes place where the attacking team has to gather three crystals from different holding areas and take them to pedestals near the center. They then power and focus a beam to destroy the route to the next segment of the map.
The second segment of the map will be the stealing of the scepter and using it to power down the force field around Ragnos's tomb. Which the attacking team will then attempt to destroy the tomb.
Due to the way the map is set up, and the incredibly time consuming nature of making it open mode compatible, we will be releasing this in tandem with Siege Desert as a FA-only style map. Because of this we may also release two separate FA's to play.
Siege Hoth
Siege Hoth will be another BaseJKA level coming in the future, though after the initial progressive siege release with at minimum desert. More details on that in the months to come.
Payload
After Progressive Siege the goal is to get the first phase of payload out into the world. Payload is exactly how it sounds and how it works in other games. Guard a payload on a set path through checkpoints to a final objective. The plan is to use payload to replace many of the VIP escort missions we currently have in Movie Battles 2.
The first two maps that will be upgraded are Cloud City and Jabba with some accompanying layout changes.
After the first release of payload we plan on further expanding it over the course of two more phases. The second phase adds the capability to dynamically swap teams on a level, which could eventually be brought into even standard MB2 levels and is preparation for other gamemodes down the line like Conquest and CTF. Phase two may also contain the ability to have multiple possible pathways for a payload to go.
Phase three will allow the usage of the respawning system that is also being designed for use with Conquest and CTF.
Conquest
For those unaware we have been planning and slowly working on conquest for a long time. Conquest is actually an overall set of features that can enable several modes and objective types using a set of versatile features. Much like Battlefield or Battlefront the main conquest mode is about capturing and controlling points on the map to gain points for your team until the win threshold is hit. Regular conquest mode has unlimited respawns.
Conquest Domination, or just Domination depending is a variant of conquest similar to the small and quick variant found in Call of Duty with much smaller, more quick to capture points. Your goal is to capture more than the enemy team, except in this variant of the mode respawning is restricted like that of open mode.
Conquest itself also allows for the creation of a King of the Hill like mode we are currently calling Balance of Power, This mode is a little different from king of the hill, though you can also create something exactly like it, even in combination with Progressive Siege similar to Overwatch. The point capture rate increases based on the number of allied players on the point, while decreasing for each enemy on the point, with no progress being made if both teams have the same number of players present. Levels made for Balance of Power are typically symmetrical and can also serve a dual purpose in being compatible with CTF as well.
We have several levels already planned for initial release. Two of which you have already played and will be slightly modified to suit conquest mode. Those are Dxun and Enclave.
Two other new maps should be available on release or close to it: Mos Espa Backstreets & Ord Mantell. Backstreets is based on a level created by NozySpy ages ago, then heavily modified by Plasma and MaceMadunusus over the years. Ord Mantell is an amalgamation of several BaseJKA levels and a level made by Mace years ago.
In the future we may see other conquest levels such as Taris or even Kamino. As well as balance of power / king of the hill style maps based on the Death Star or other locations.
Private Duels
This feature, which is only available on duel servers, will allow players to challenge one another to duels in much the same way as could be done in BaseJKA. Once accepted the combatants will be immune to all types of interference from other players. Player's inside the duel will not be able to see anyone from outside their duel, will not be able to clip into any player models from outside their duel, will not take any damage from anyone outside their duel and will not even be able to see other players who are not in their duel. This enables a true one on one combat on duel servers.
Maps
Outside of the new game modes we have several new maps coming in the future. The first of which being developed by Langerd titled Sarlacc which you have seen in the community section of the forums. Since you last saw it several modifications and fixes has been made.
We also have plans to hopefully finish some maps that have been sitting unfinished for many years. These include Geonosis Duel and Mos Eisley Escape.
Who knows, maybe even more is in our future for this year? A second and even third Scarif map? One of which being the first fully official space battle map, and the other being the second part of Scarif stealing the death star plans from the vault. Only time will tell.
Gameplay
We have several things in the cooker for gameplay changes this year. Some of which include finally releasing the Super Battle Droid revamp, as well as doing some upgrades to classes like Wookiee. We may also see things like additional Force Powers for Jedi/Sith and additional upgrades to classes like Clone Trooper. Of course there is still the final round of sabering changes being worked on and we would like to provide an open beta, or multiple open beta's for these changes. Since most of these changes are in flux we aren't comfortable revealing the full details on them just yet.
We want to take a much broader look at how the game is balanced and what is available to each class rather than constant isolated small tweaks to different areas of the game. With this in mind you can expect to see only small and focused quality of life game play improvements before a much broader patch which could end up being the largest shakeup in several years. This will of course be done through an open beta process and using a data driven approach. Hopefully over the next 12 months we will see some modernising, some new game modes, and a new toy for everyone to play with.
That is all for now folks!
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