A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, beardy George Lucas invented Star Wars. We all know this; it's writ large in stone (and come to think of it, writ in writs too).. it was magical, cutting edge, and some of the best Sci-Fi ever made; if you could forgive Princess Leia for being allowed any speaking parts at all.
Over the weekend I downloaded the latest BF1942 mod to hit the e-streets; Galactic Conquest. It is fair to say that given it's setting and the proven abilities of the BF1942 engine, this mod has been widely anticipated for some time now - everyone from Starwars Uber Geeks to Lightsaber Wielding Wannabes egged on by nice static shots and the possibility that this mod may let us play Jedi. Cue bass-enhanced asthma inhaler FX overlay.
Put quite simply, I found the play experience wanting. Desperately wanting.
This is Star Wars; this is *it* when it comes to Good versus Evil in the galactic stakes, and frankly it feels like the mod creators were more interested in releasing it than actually making sure it had any of the Star Wars 'magic'. It is, quite simply, BF1942 reskinned.
Perhaps I'm being too judgemental, it is after all an alpha release. Perhaps I'm expecting too much from a freebie mod development team, attempting to recreate something of the Lucas original inside a consumer orientated PC title.
Or perhaps, I've been spoilt rotten by the simply awesome Desert Combat mod, which has (in my view) delivered one of the best mods since Counter-Strike appeared and laid waste to Half Life traditional multiplayer.
Everything (and I really do mean everything) feels slow and clunky, or in the case of the Tie Fighters and A-Wings, not even properly configured - to the point where taking off is a near nightmare.. yes the textures on these craft are extremely detailed in most cases, but if you can't even move about semi-properly once embarked, what be the point?
Bases are given but the most cursory of textural makeovers - if at all. As an Imperial Stormtrooper, I was somewhat taken aback by the fact that practically everything I could see looked so Tribes-esque it was cringeworthy; huge swathes of gray and dirty brown; no feeling that it was the heart of my evil emperor's presence on the planet at hand.. I could barely see my way clear to crushing any rebel scum I was that dejected.
For me, Galactic Conquest has already put itself into a position of Galactic DampSquib.. considering the legacy it has behind it (though I am also intrigued by their legal position) I just feel that it's been thrown together in order to be the first Star Wars mod, as supposed to transporting the player to the Star Wars universe in a way which the BF1942 engine could do so well.
Still, it is their first release; I shall undoubtedly give it another bash when the new version appears on the radar, but until then I'm afraid this StormTrooper has put his boots up.
Monday, 4 August 2003
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I didn't get as far as this even. Crash to desktop when joining a (same version) server.
ReplyDeletePersonally I'm looking formward to the ut2003 sw mod - troopers.
The Death Star actually does have shiny floors, so this may be a match made in heaven :)
ReplyDeleteThat was pretty reserved, Brit. I would've just said it was a bit crap so far.
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