Movie Battles

Movie Battles
Developer(s) Movie Battles Team
Publisher(s) Movie Battles Team
Series Star Wars: Jedi Knight
Engine id Tech 3
Platform(s) Mac OS, Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)

Initial release 2003,[1]

V1.4.1 19 June 2016[2]
Genre(s) First-person / third-person shooter
Mode(s) Multiplayer

Movie Battles II or MBII is a team-based, last man standing multiplayer mod of the shooter game Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy inspired by the most popular first person shooter Counter-Strike.[3] The primary purpose of the mod is to allow players to experience setpiece battle scenes straight from the six Star Wars films, immersing themselves directly in parts of the two Star Wars trilogies.[4] This means that most of the original aspects of the game have been changed and only a few of the original gameplay features remain. The game pits one team of Galactic Empire/Separatist forces against the Rebel Alliance/Galactic Republic forces, either of which attempt to complete an objective, or to eliminate all members of the enemy team.[5]

Development

The Movie Battles mod was started by Richard Hart (online alias RenegadeOfPhunk) in 2003,[1] with the goal of mixing the round- and objective based gameplay of Counter-Strike with the lightsaber and gun mechanics of Star Wars.[3] The first versions of the mod were developed for Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, the previous game in the Jedi Knight series.[1] This version already had the key elements of Movie Battles in it, such as the modified lightsaber combat and the last man standing system. The mod was later remade for Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy which is the version worked on and played today. An offspring to Movie Battles, mod titled The New Era (TNE) was in development for the Source engine which would have allowed for improved graphics and a better physics engine, but the game was cancelled in 2013. It was thought of as a successor to Movie Battles, but TNE was moving into a different, more Deathmatch like genre. Many of the development team for TNE were members of the Movie Battles development team.[6][7]

The mod's website was launched in 2004[8] and since then more builds (beta versions) have been released. The changes between versions are new maps, fixes and new features.[9] A hotfix is also released a few days after the build to fix some of the bugs not noticed in testing. The newest version (Release Candidate 3) takes the mod out of beta development and a step further to the version one milestone. An installer which automatically updates any files needed is also included.[10]

On 2 April 2011, a trailer revealing a sequel was released.[11] Movie Battles 3 was going to be a standalone free game developed on Unreal Engine.[12] MB3 was cancelled after a few years in development, however, Movie Battles 2 development was carried on. The latest update, V1.4.1, was released on the 19 of June 2016.[13]

Gameplay

Screenshot of Build 17 taken in September 2005.

Movie Battles II is a team based shooter game, in which the player joins the Imperial/Separatist forces or the Rebel/Republic forces. Both teams usually have objectives which can be completed to win the round. The player also gets a number of points which he can spend on upgrades for his character.[14] Any players who are killed before the end of the round become spectators. They may follow certain players who are still alive or free-roam in the spectator cam, similar to other first-person shooters, such as Battlefield 2.[15]

The lightsaber combat in Movie Battles is changed from the original system substantially. Blocking and defensive moves are favored over the unmodded game's "swing-spam". There are meters for both force pool and block stamina which deplete as the player intercepts incoming blaster and lightsaber attacks.[16] Similar to Counter-Strike, Movie Battles uses an objective system, where one team defends and the other one attacks one or more objectives. Objective types are usually variants on common themes,[14] such as "slicing panels", or NPC guarding. By using such a system, it is significantly different from most Star Wars games, where the goal is often simply to kill everyone on the other team.

Screenshot of version 1.4.1 taken in June 2016.

MBII has three game types. These are Open Mode, Semi-Authentic Mode and Authentic Mode. Depending on the gametype, the characters and features such as weapons a player can choose can be limited or not. In Open mode, everything can be chosen, while in Semi Authentic and Full Authentic, only the models that fit to the current map can be chosen, in Full Authentic, even the features are predefined.[14][17] The latest versions also include duel mode. Certain maps have been created which allow a Duel to be fought, a battle between two sides representing a scene in a film or game. Often these fights are one versus one, but sometimes the number of players differs on either side.[9][18]

Players in MBII choose a class of fighter, similar to games like Battlefield 2 with defined roles. The Rebel or Republic side (map dependent) have access to a number of specific classes including clone troopers with repeater blaster rifles and Wookiees with bowcasters, as well as Jedi. The Imperial or Separatist side (map dependent) have access to a number of specific classes as well: droidekas, Super battle droids, jet pack and flamethrower wielding Mandalorians, as well as Sith. Both teams have access to the two generic classes (soldiers and commanders).[9][19]

Reception

In 2005 the UK edition of PC Gamer printed an article covering the mod. In the same year Sky News mentioned Movie Battles alongside other user-made game modifications.[19][20] As of June 2016, 400 users on the website Mod DB have rated the game with the average score of 9.4.[21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "'Movie Battles' has gone open Beta". LucasForums.
  2. ↑ "V1.4.1 Map Patch". Movie Battles Website. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  3. 1 2 "This is what Siege mode should have been...". The Jedi Academy. Archived from the original on 2004-06-06. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  4. ↑ "Movie Battles II". ModDB. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
  5. ↑ "20 Kickass mods". Games Radar. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  6. ↑ "Team". Star Wars: The New Era. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  7. ↑ "Credits". Movie Battles Website. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  8. ↑ "First!". Movie Battles Forums. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  9. 1 2 3 "Current Build Changelog". Movie Battles Website. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  10. ↑ "RC1 Released!". Movie Battles Forums. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  11. ↑ "Moviebattles 3 Official Reveal Trailer". Youtube. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  12. ↑ "Moviebattles 3 states the usage of Unreal Engine @1:17". Youtube. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  13. ↑ "Moviebattles Forums "V1.4.1 Released"". Moviebattles Forums. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  14. 1 2 3 "The Forms Of Combat". Movie Battles Website.
  15. ↑ "Last Man Standing Features". Movie Battles Website. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
  16. ↑ "Art of the Saber". Movie Battles Website.
  17. ↑ "Mbch values". MB2 Wiki. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  18. ↑ "New Duel Mode". Movie Battles Forums. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  19. 1 2 "The Importance Of Mods". Sky News. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
  20. ↑ PC Gamer (UK Edition) (152). September 2005. p. 111. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ↑ "Mod DB Movie battles 2 reviews". Mod DB. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
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