EA Motive has debuted the first look at real gameplay for Star Wars Squadrons the first-person space sim coming to PC and consoles with VR support in October. The game features a two-part campaign where players can join either the New Republic or Galactic Empire alongside a pair of multiplayer modes featuring 5 vs. 5 combat.
The hook for players to keep going in the competitive modes is the progression systems where players unlock components (and cosmetics) to upgrade their starfighters for either side of the conflict. On the cosmetic side this means exterior ship skins, pilot costumes and faces, and in-cockpit items. But where it really matters is in the customization of ship loadouts, from weapon and shield systems, to mines and counter-measures.
The Star Wars Squadrons gameplay trailer seemingly revealed all of the ship loadout components that will be available for the eight starships coming at launch (four for each side).
- Laser Cannon
- Rotary Cannon
- Burst Cannon
- Rapid Fire Cannon
- Plasburst Cannon
- Auto-Aim Cannon
- Guided Rotary Cannon
- Guided Quad-Cannon
- Ion Cannon
- Concussion Missile
- Turret Mine
- Seeker Mine
- Quick-Lock Missile
- Goliath Missile
- Rockets
- Ion Missile
- Ion Torpedo
- Multi-Lock Missile
- Cluster Missile
- Proton Torpedo
- Proton Bomb
- Ion Bomb
- Automatic Ion Cannon
- Beam Cannon
- Baradium Torpedo
- Repair Droid
- Repair System
- Tractor Beam
- Assault Shield
- Mimic Beacon
- Tactical Shield
- Targeting Jammer
- Targeting Beacons
- Supply Droid
- Squadron Mask
- Seeker Warheads
- Chaff Particles
- Sensor Jammer
- Sensor Inverter
- Ferroceramic Hull (The trailer had a typo on this one)
- Reinforced Hull
- Light Hull
- Laminasteel Hull
- Dampener Hull
- Deflector Hull
- Reflec Hull
- Deflector Shield
- Resonant Shield
- Nimble Deflector
- Fortified Deflector
- Ray Shield
- Scrambler Shield
- Conversion Shield
- Overloaded Shield
- Sublight Engine
- Propulsion Engine
- Thrust Engine
- Microthrust Engine
- Ion Jet Engine
- Slam Engine
There are lots of cannons but it's unclear if this is all canon... The mandate for all Star Wars stories since Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm and the IP was that going forward, all content across all media - books, comics, games, television series, and the movies - would all be canonical, approved and built with cooperation from the Lucasfilm Story Group. With interactive games coming exclusively from publisher Electronic Arts including progression elements in all releases thus far, this rule seems much more loose when it comes to the little nitty gritty details Star Wars enthusiasts or fans of past Star Wars games would notice.
However, Star Wars Squadrons is pulling in lots of cool tidbits from the franchise's lore. The Plasburst Cannon, as an example, is quite an unknown throwback to "Star Wars Adventure Journal 12" and a 1996 book expansion to Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. And the Baradium, that's an especially volatile material used in thermal detonators and large-scale warheads to take down capital ships. It's awesome that these items, among others from various Star Wars starship-based books and guides are making their way into modern "canon" Star Wars. The question now, is will all these potentially strange custom variants of iconic New Republic (Rebel) and Imperial light starships fit? Does it even matter?
With the loadout options listed above, and potentially more (among other things) added post-launch, there will be plenty for developer EA Motive to allow players to do in addition to cosmetic options. The trailer notes that these are unlocked via in-game currency (similar approach to Jedi Fallen Order) but we're curious if there's a shady microtransaction element unannounced. After all, ship color options and select pilot costumes are only accessible in pre-ordered versions of the game...
Next: Everything We Know About Star Wars: Squadrons
Star Wars Squadrons releases for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 2, 2020 and supports VR.
https://ift.tt/37HfKjN
June 19, 2020 at 05:17AM
