So I've been collecting and tinkering with the demos and betas recently and the Battlefront 1 demo on PS2 intrigues me the most. It appears there is a fully functioning Bothan Spy with a fully functional disguise kit. There is the gray Imperial Officer with an awesome bottom orbital strike weapon.
I've taken the only featured map, Endor, and converted it into a basic empty level, so that I can load more stuff without hitting the memory limits.
Here is some screenshots:
[spoiler](https://i.imgur.com/KdUzO3t.jpg)[/spoiler]
[spoiler](https://i.imgur.com/ykW18D2.jpg)[/spoiler]
[spoiler](https://i.imgur.com/axo5ocr.jpg)[/spoiler]
[spoiler](https://i.imgur.com/8L5O9fX.jpg)[/spoiler]
The files also show that the Tatooine land speeder and the Hovernaut exists but I haven't tested them yet. I will test them later and if they work, I will try modding the official BF1 game to include these vehicles and characters.
It's kinda amazing what didn't get included in the game.
[spoiler](https://i.imgur.com/snbz4Ra.jpg)[/spoiler]
[spoiler](https://i.imgur.com/rJULvVe.jpg)[/spoiler]
[spoiler](https://i.imgur.com/r3hVIxB.jpg)[/spoiler]
Based on my research, I've concluded that the game had 6 classes until around May 2004, which is when the Officer class was cut and its defining feature (Health and/or Ammo dispensers) were shifted to the Pilot class. Correlating with this theory is that the Bothan was never an Officer but rather a Special unit, given a few dev quotes and how the Wookiee actually contained that kit in promotional material. Does the Wookiee in this version still retain that kit?
I also find it interesting that the Pilot class is unavailable in this demo. Is that because you had to cut it out to insert the Officers or was that simply how the demo is made? Because I know for a fact that Pilots were developed in tandem with Officers.
does the hovernaut crash or freeze the game ?
it fully works
Quote from: Michaeluj on October 14, 2019, 02:49:58 AM
Based on my research, I've concluded that the game had 6 classes until around May 2004, which is when the Officer class was cut and its defining feature (Health and/or Ammo dispensers) were shifted to the Pilot class. Correlating with this theory is that the Bothan was never an Officer but rather a Special unit, given a few dev quotes and how the Wookiee actually contained that kit in promotional material. Does the Wookiee in this version still retain that kit?
I also find it interesting that the Pilot class is unavailable in this demo. Is that because you had to cut it out to insert the Officers or was that simply how the demo is made? Because I know for a fact that Pilots were developed in tandem with Officers.
The pilot is there, you just can't see it because the spawn menu can't display all the characters at once. The Wookiee has the weapons as it does in the retail version.
What do you mean by 'fully functioning Disguise Kit'? Is it something that works differently to the one we have in the mod tools?
Quote from: Giftheck on October 15, 2019, 12:25:00 AM
What do you mean by 'fully functioning Disguise Kit'? Is it something that works differently to the one we have in the mod tools?
I wrote that because I was never sure whether or not we already had one.
Quote from: AnthonyBF2 on October 15, 2019, 04:37:56 AM
I wrote that because I was never sure whether or not we already had one.
It works in SWBF but it literally just swaps the unit mesh with whatever is used by the first unit set for the enemy team (so if you have a map that for some reason has Rebels vs CIS, the Disguise Kit will change you into a Super Battle Droid if that's the first unit on their team), and makes you invisible to enemies with no time limit. You can't capture CPs and if it's in the primary slot, you can't use your primary weapon. If it's in the secondary slot, you can - which does make it unfair.
Is it possible to extract the bothan mesh from the files?
I was going to say "It should be in the assets of BFbuilder" but I am wrong.
Psych0fred's Chain Isle assets has it if I'm not mistaken. You should probably use that version instead of an extracted one.
Eyyy,
Thanks Dark_Phantom!
Quote from: Michaeluj on October 14, 2019, 02:49:58 AM
Based on my research, I've concluded that the game had 6 classes until around May 2004, which is when the Officer class was cut and its defining feature (Health and/or Ammo dispensers) were shifted to the Pilot class. Correlating with this theory is that the Bothan was never an Officer but rather a Special unit, given a few dev quotes and how the Wookiee actually contained that kit in promotional material. Does the Wookiee in this version still retain that kit.
I'm guessing that there wasn't a true 'Officer' class, but a second Special Class of which the IG Droid, Clone Commander, Imperial Officer and Bothan Spy were all a part of. There was a lot of talk about the Officer having an 'unmask' but looking into it, from all I have read about the development and what I have been told, this was never the case. There certainly isn't a class in the game for anything of the sort.
QuoteI'm guessing that there wasn't a true 'Officer' class, but a second Special Class of which the IG Droid, Clone Commander, Imperial Officer and Bothan Spy were all a part of. There was a lot of talk about the Officer having an 'unmask' but looking into it, from all I have read about the development and what I have been told, this was never the case. There certainly isn't a class in the game for anything of the sort.
Well, the game was in constant flux, completely different from when it was first announced compared to when it was released. On January 13, Tso could only say that there were "multiple" special classes:
QuoteTso: This is still in flux, but at the very least we'll have a basic infantry grunt, a scout, a heavy weapons guy, a pilot\mechanic, and a few special classes depending on the faction. For example, the Republic will have a clone trooper with a jet pack.
Although Borrud, the next day, said that the different factions would have different numbers of special classes:
QuoteBorrud: Each side on each era has a ton of really cool and unique classes and weapons, but as for which is best, I guess that depends upon how you like to play the game. In designing the four sides for the game from the two eras we wanted to make sure that each side had its unique playing style. For example, the Rebel troops have fewer classes and each character has more weapons available -- but overall these weapons are a little less effective than the Empire. On the Empire side you have more classes and units specialize a little more. Since they have fewer weapons, the weapons they do have are more effective. So how do you like to play as a gamer? Do you like the variety or do you like the power? This will help determine which side, and ultimately which era, is your favorite.
Regardless, whatever they wanted to call this class, it's probably best for us to refer it as the Officer for the sake of making a clear distinction between it and the Special class we did get.
In Feb 2004, the following was said about the Imperials:
Quote"For the Imperial side, their special unit right now is the Imperial officer. He can heal troops, he can also deploy a probe droid to steer remotely around the battlefield. The cool thing about the probe droid is he can also call in a bombardment from orbit. He can drop off a beacon, and sound a warning, but then that area is pretty much going to be pummelled from space."
"On the other side is Imperial Officer, who distributes health and ammo, and he can call down an orbital strike. He's the only unit who can spot enemy spies. Then there is the Special Trooper, a big beefy war droids with jet packs. We cant talk too much about him just yet."
Although one thing I want to correct is that the Bothan was originally supposed to be the Special, not the wookiee, according to this quote by Andersen in Feb 2004:
QuoteEach side also has two more unique classes. The first of these share one thing in common with each other, they act as support characters by providing power-ups to their allies. But their other abilities and equipment varies from side to side. The last unit types are all much quirkier. For example, the Republic Jet Trooper's ability to use the jet pack or the Bothan Spy's ability to disguise itself and infiltrate enemy Command Posts.
This would be corroborated by the Wookiee, in April, being revealed to have a Medpack, much like the Imperial officer. So the Wookiee was the "Officer", not the Bothan.
I could go on (this is a long and fascinating history), but a lot was said already, lol.
Has anyone ever paid attention to the 2004 Battlefront rear cover?
PC:
[spoiler](https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/61598-star-wars-battlefront-windows-back-cover.jpg)[/spoiler]
Xbox:
[spoiler](https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/47713-star-wars-battlefront-xbox-back-cover.jpg)[/spoiler]
PS2:
[spoiler](https://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/l/122168-star-wars-battlefront-playstation-2-back-cover.png)[/spoiler]
All three covers depict a red clone with a blaster rifle and what might be a jetpack attached to him, or at least some sort of prop like the rebel soldier has.
I also don't recognize top left screen on the Xbox cover, this might just be the regular Dune Sea map with different terrain textures but I'm not familiar with Xbox version or the Dune Sea map enough to confirm that.
Yeah, I noticed that on the back cover of both my PC copy and my former PS2 copy. I also noticed, when SWBF Files was still up, that there were screenshots of a clone trooper with black markings that appeared to be in a sniper role.
I remember there used to be a version of the Battlefront 2 conversion mod that added a section to the game talking about cut content. Among the things I recall were:
The Naboo: Theed City and Geonosis maps being completely different. Theed had a different floor texture and the grate in front of the palace wasn't there. Geonosis had a core ship prop in the background and possibly the SPHAT would have been around. It was also more of an open plain, a bit like the EA Battlefront 2 version. If you look at the preview vids for both levels in the game, they show the original versions of these maps. Kamino also might have had vehicles and might have been bigger.
Command posts were different, and your team's command post would glow blue like in BF2.
It seems like the clones' colors weren't nailed down, as you had clone snipers with black markings, a blue jet trooper with the infantry class' gun and a sniper rifle in the trailers, and the aforementioned red jet trooper on the back of the box.
The rebel pilot had white gloves and boots. The Bothan, imp officer, red arc trooper, and an IG-88 type droid were cut or replaced with different models. There was an unused bazooka model that might have belonged to the Rebels.
The rebels had their own version of the speeder bike (which could hold 2 people) and different hover-tank than what they got. Both were featured on the official Battlefront 1 website. They would have also gotten the K-Wing.
The AT-ST in early screenshots, trailers, and demos looks a lot more crude than in the final version. They almost look like the version that appeared in The Empire Strike Back.
I recall the Battlefront 1 website also mentioned an "Episode III" planet being in the game, but no planet from Episode III (Cato Nemodia, Felucia, Mustafar, Mygeeto, or Utapau) ever appear. It's would not have been Kashyyyk, as Kashyyyk was confirmed early on alongside the "Episode III" planet.
There might have been stuff from Pandemic's The Clone Wars video game that would have been transferred to Battlefront (like the Separatist GAT and Republic AT-XT), as I believe both games used the same engine. I not so sure this is true, though.
There is this Battlefront wiki page which shows some of the cut content I've mentioned:
https://battlefront.fandom.com/wiki/Cut_Content
There's also this old youtube video from a guy who has both the Xbox and PS2 demos of BF 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcxGB6t3Y_I
Here's a brainstorming posted to psych0fred's website over the past few days of what the five-class system could have been:
http://www.secretsociety.com/forum/downloads/BF1/Misc/BF1UnitBalanceBrainstorming2004.jpg
This isn't far removed from what they had in the final game so I would wager this was after they decided to drop the sixth claxss. Seems even once the Officer was removed, they kept the Rebel Spy in the Scout role instead.
More evidence:
[spoiler](https://i.imgur.com/2A9gSDo.jpg)[/spoiler]
Sadly, the demo does not contain REP.LVL or CIS.LVL, it would be awesome if someone still had those files and coughed them up.
Update: I've prepared a mod for the official version that includes the officer and the spy.
http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?topic=13673.0
Quote from: Giftheck on October 19, 2019, 11:57:52 PM
Here's a brainstorming posted to psych0fred's website over the past few days of what the five-class system could have been:
http://www.secretsociety.com/forum/downloads/BF1/Misc/BF1UnitBalanceBrainstorming2004.jpg
This isn't far removed from what they had in the final game so I would wager this was after they decided to drop the sixth claxss. Seems even once the Officer was removed, they kept the Rebel Spy in the Scout role instead.
That might explain why the Rebel Sniper had a disguise kit in the PS2 demo.
Psyc0fred's image corroborates my understanding that the Officer was dropped around May and that the health and ammo dispensers weren't moved to the Pilot until afterwards. Nice!
The clone commander and tactical droid assets still exist in the builders.
Looks like clone commander is still intact somewhat, but the tac droid is just a msh and tga (cis_inf_ig88).
Keep in mind that Pandemic was extremely generous and did throw a bunch of their cut content in the mod tools (there's a solid chance it also exists in the stock .lvl files as well).
Just want to tell people that there are many threads on here and gametoast discussing cut content:
Gametoast: http://www.gametoast.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18192
http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?topic=2936.msg31231#msg31231
http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?topic=7793.msg84024#msg84024
I'm not killing discussion (I love cut content discussions), but much of this has been discussed before.
The thought's just occured to me that perhaps the stock LVL files contain ODFs for some of the missing content. IIRC, the stock Hoth LUA calls on imp_droid_probe, which is absolutely nowhere to be found in the mod tools but must exist in the stock LVL files for the map to load without crashing.
Quote from: Giftheck on October 21, 2019, 02:57:18 PM
The thought's just occured to me that perhaps the stock LVL files contain ODFs for some of the missing content. IIRC, the stock Hoth LUA calls on imp_droid_probe, which is absolutely nowhere to be found in the mod tools but must exist in the stock LVL files for the map to load without crashing.
The Imperial probe droid already exist in the BFBuilder assets and should be fully working, (it roams around and shoots at rebels until it dies), but it's not in the game because something in the Hoth map isn't setup to make it spawn.
I think R2-D2 also exists and does the same thing, minus any weapons, it just roams around.
Quote from: AnthonyBF2 on October 21, 2019, 04:02:51 PM
The Imperial probe droid already exist in the BFBuilder assets and should be fully working, (it roams around and shoots at rebels until it dies), but it's not in the game because something in the Hoth map isn't setup to make it spawn.
I think R2-D2 also exists and does the same thing, minus any weapons, it just roams around.
R2-D2 is present (armed with a fusion cutter) but the probe droid ODF isn't present in the assets folder at all, though psych0fred did include it in his Chain Isle map. That's why, if you were to import the stock IMP side from the assets, munge it and then try to load Hoth: Echo Base, it crashes: the LUA calls for it even though it doesn't use it (perhaps left in by mistake). Many a modder has been caught out by Hoth when modifying the stock sides.
Quote from: Giftheck on October 21, 2019, 11:14:38 PM
R2-D2 is present (armed with a fusion cutter) but the probe droid ODF isn't present in the assets folder at all, though psych0fred did include it in his Chain Isle map. That's why, if you were to import the stock IMP side from the assets, munge it and then try to load Hoth: Echo Base, it crashes: the LUA calls for it even though it doesn't use it (perhaps left in by mistake). Many a modder has been caught out by Hoth when modifying the stock sides.
Lmao, I tried to munge new sides for BF1 on PS2 and they worked on every map except Hoth, thanks for confirming the problem.
I do believe the demo IMP.lvl includes the probe droid and I will see about pulling it into the next mod release I do for the official game version.
I think there is a set of side builders with the probe droid included for exactly this problem, which does occur on PC. However, I don't remember which one. However, what Gistech says will work - you could probably unmunge the stock sides for PC as well and get the same result. I'd be interested if the demo one is any different.