Rogue One DLC Confirmed for Star Wars Battlefront

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"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" has been spotted in the final DLC slot of the Star Wars Battlefront Multiplayer launch menu.

Just prior to launching the Death Star DLC for Star Wars Battlefront, I happened to notice that there was a name given to the final Expansion Pack Playlist slot on the multiplayer game menu. The name given is "Rogue One: Scarif"!

The highly anticipated Rogue One film is set in the Star Wars universe some time after the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and shortly before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, the story centers on a group of Rebels who are on a mission to steal the vital plans for the Galactic Empire's infamous new weapon, the Death Star!

According to sources at EA DICE, the maps for the new DLC will be set on the tropical planet "Scarif". The main bad guy you see in the trailer will be the primary antagonist for this new expansion pack. Speculation is that there will be two added heroes, Jane Erso and the main bad guy we've already mentioned. 

There has also been talk regarding the confirmation of the rumor that there will be more single-player action coming to the DLC packs. However, talking about the confirmation of rumors is really still just the rumor mill doing what it does best. We'll have to wait and see.

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The short video in the link was taken from a longer gameplay video that I am currently putting together. This clip captures the moment that I noticed that the final DLC slot had been given a name. The commentary heard in the video was my initial reaction. The full length gameplay video and my overall review of the recently released Death Star Expansion Pack will be released soon. Stay Tuned!

Stay Skookum!
Pilchuck
of Skookum Valley Gaming

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Star Wars Battlefront - Death Star DLC | Visual Anomalies

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"That's no moon. It's a space station."
--Obi-Wan Kenobi

Hello, Everyone! Welcome to Skookum Valley Gaming. I just wanted to get out a quick blog and video showing my first impressions of the new Star Wars Battlefront Death Star DLC that was released today to Season Pass members. A full highlights video and blog review will be posted later this week.

I have been loving this game since the first release! The first two DLC packages kept me fully engaged by thoroughly impressing me with the developer's attention to detail. Ever since the announcement of the Death Star DLC, I have been eagerly awaiting it's arrival.

While playing the game, some interesting visual anomalies were experienced. In one form of optical oddity, the respawn splash screen was unrecognizable. This can be seen in the video after the first death (at the 11 second mark). It goes by quickly but you can hear me say, "Yeah, that graphic's messed up."

Other visual side-effects seemed to occur mostly when making the transition between the space-based and ground-based battles while playing the new Battle Station game mode.

This intriguing new game mode is a clever variation on familiar themes which builds upon a mixture of space-based Fighter Squadron and ground based infantry battles. It looks like there may still be some wrinkles to iron out in the code which supports this new feature.

At first, I thought the cut-scene was glitching and was failing to render at the same high-resolution that we have come to enjoy in this rather ground-breaking game. You can see the first example at the 21 second mark where I say, "Man! What has happened here?" The visual anomaly prompted me to reset my PS4 because I thought memory was getting corrupted or something. 

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After the reset, I quickly returned to the same transition cut-scene and it looked just as bad each time. There is a similar cut-scene during the transition between the second and third phase of Battle Station where the gameplay returns to space based battles above the surface of the Death Star. This cut-scene (staring at 0:56) also has the same, strange, low-resolution (and kind of odd looking) graphical quality as the one between the first and second phases of the game mode. 

Other anomalies were encountered during these transitions as I continued to play several rounds. Each time the transitions occurred, slightly different oddities would arise. Some of these included loss of sound (at 1:11) and other screen effects which you can see in the video in the link. Check out the incident where the top 1/3 of the screen goes white while the bottom 2/3 remains black for no apparent reason (at time 1:51).

...and why is the spinning load circle in the center of the screen and not down at the lower right?

My suspicion is that there is a really heavy context switch required between those phases of Battle Station. I'm thinking that swapping out one map for another while running the same game mode is something that was not built into the underlying software design. It probably requires a lot of resources and, being something new, is causing some unexpected and undesirable behavior. EA DICE will likely address this issue in a future patch and it's not a game changer or show stopper by any means.

I chatted with someone online who was also playing the game tonight. This user mentioned seeing the some problems and when I spoke about the anomalies that I was seeing, he said that he'd seen them too and was glad that I mentioned it because he thought maybe it was just him. 

In any case, I really do appreciate the work that EA DICE has put into this truly remarkable and beautifully rendered game. However, I do think that something unfortunate has happened and perhaps this DLC was release just slightly prematurely. I'm hoping that there will be a patch coming soon and we can put all of this strangeness behind us. 

Bonus Video Link! Another PS4 SWBF player posted a rather entertaining glitch. What happens when you respawn in space but the game forgets to give you a space ship? Click on the video frame to find out!

- Click Here for Mihaly Csere's Video -

Stay Skookum!
Pilchuck
of Skookum Valley Gaming

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Wampa Sighting! | Star Wars Battlefront Easter Egg

- Video Link -

Turn on, tune in, and go in search of The Wampa! Join Pilchuck of Skookum Valley and very special guest, StarKiller180535, as they uncover one of the greatest mysteries in the mountains of Hoth.

The Wampa is a prime example of the Skookum family of mountain monsters. On Earth this creature is known as the Yeti or the Abominable Snowman.

Over the centuries since it was first reported, this mysterious animal has been seen by many people and has been known by many names. The exclusive video found in the link below provides irrefutable evidence of the existence of this elusive entity.

The Skookum family also includes the large, hairy beings known as the Sasquatch, or as they are called in some places, the Bigfoot. Wherever you find remote and untouched wilderness, you will always find Skookum. It is probably safest not to mention the topic when Chewbacca is around but many galactic anthropologists believe that the Wookie are members of the ancient Skookum family.

Click the above frame to play the video!

In this video, I rather accidentally learned of this awesome Star Wars Battlefront Easter Egg. After dying a rather untimely and seemingly pointless death, I respawned into a surprising locale. My team mate, StarKiller180535, had ventured off to go spelunking and, much to my excitement, when I spawned into the cave with him, I saw a prime specimen of the elusive Wampa munching on some Tauntaun bones right before my eyes!

The cave is found on the "Twilight on Hoth" map and you can only reach the cave when you are playing on the side of the Imperial Empire during the Walker Assault game mode.

In the middle of the video, I peer out from the cave and you can see the initial spawn point for the Imperial forces. This is the first clue to the whereabouts of the Wampa Cavern. Enlarge the image below to get a bearing on the cave's location.

Try to find this cave very early in the match as you have only a limited time to locate and explore this Easter Egg. Once the AT-AT's reach the first set of uplink stations, your time is up and the part of the map which includes the Wampa will suddenly become out-of-bounds. Get there quickly and get there with a partner if you wish to get up close to the Wampa.

In a future video, I will show you how to get to the cave and see the Wampa for yourself. The video will also explain how to go beyond the stalactites so that you can get an up-close, over the shoulder selfie with a true living fossil from a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away!

If you enjoyed this video, please hit the "like" button and feel free to share it with friends!

A special thanks goes out to StarKiller180535 for showing me this awesome extra detail in Star Wars Battlefront's "Twilight on Hoth" map!

Thanks for visiting and keep coming back!

Stay Skookum!
Pilchuck
of Skookum Valley Gaming

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Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Skywalker Hero | Graveyard of Giants

(see below for video link)

Are you curious to know what it's like to be Luke Skywalker? Have you ever wanted to fight amidst the wreckage of Imperial Starships and AT-AT Walkers on the surface of the debris strewn deserts of Jakku? Then sit back and enjoy this three and a half minute uncut hero run from the widely popular Star Wars™ Battlefront™.

The "Graveyard of Giants" map on which this video was captured represents the setting of the Battle of Jakku. This infamous battle was reported to have occurred one year and four days after the Battle of Endor and was waged between the forces of the New Republic and the Galactic Empire.

Enjoy a round of Star Wars™ Battlefront™ by clicking on the frame above.

Although the Rebels were victorious, Luke Skywalker payed the ultimate price and was killed by debris which fell from a destroyed AT-AT at the bitter end of the battle. Wait! What?! This must be footage from one of those J.J. Abrams alternate universes! It's just a game. It doesn't have to make sense. :-)

If you enjoyed this video, please hit the "like" button and feel free to share it with friends!

Thanks for visiting and keep coming back!

Stay Skookum!
Pilchuck
of Skookum Valley Gaming

► YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/SkookumValleyGamingTube
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Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Drop Zone - Ice Caves - Full Uncut Match!

(see below for video link)

Please enjoy this fully unedited and uncut match of Drop Zone on the Star Wars™ Battlefront™ Ice Caves map!

Drop Zone has probably been my favorite game mode on Battlefront. It is almost certainly the one that I have played most often. For me, this mode brings out the most intense close-up and in-your-face action! I get my highest scores and greatest win ratios on Drop Zone.

Next to Drop Zone, I'd have to pick Walker Assault for those times when I feel like playing on a large map with full sized teams and access to powerful vehicles. I'll be posting some Walker Assault gameplay in upcoming videos.

This video was posted so that others may get a chance to take a closer look at Star Wars™ Battlefront™ on the PlayStation 4.

It should be noted that while these games are played at full 1080p on the PS4, the built in SHAREfactory tool only records games at 720p. YouTube will further compress the video to increase streaming efficiency. All of this tends to degrade the visual experience.

Even though the compressed 720p image stream is still very good on small screens, it simply does not do justice to the visual quality of this game when viewed on larger, full HD screens.

When played on an UltraHD 4K television, this game is truly stunning (the PS4's 1080p gets upscaled on my Samsung TV). EA and Lucas Arts truly worked their endless magic into this release. It has been one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played on a console!

Something to notice is the accumulation of snow and ice that build up on my Shadow Trooper's black uniform. It starts clean on each respawn but gradually builds up a snow pack in a fashion that depends upon what is happening in the game. If the player stays alive long enough, the snow and ice will slowly melt away. This is an example of the awesome attention to detail provided by the developers. Gotta love it!

So, if you are curious as to what a full match of Drop Zone is like then sit back and enjoy the next 10 minutes of gameplay.

Enjoy a round of Star Wars™ Battlefront™ by clicking on the frame above.

I am especially fond of the firefight which takes place from about 0:50 to 1:05. Watch my character slide down the backside of a glacier and still take out the enemy!

If you enjoyed this video, please hit the "like" button and feel free to share it with friends!

Thanks for visiting and keep coming back!

Stay Skookum!
Pilchuck
of Skookum Valley Gaming

► YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/SkookumValleyGamingTube
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