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About this mod
This is a collection of smaller mods that make Star Wars: Battlefront quite a different (see title) experience...
- Permissions and credits
UPDATED 2021
TL;DR: OLD FASHIONED (=ORIGINAL TRILOGY + OFFLINE) STAR WARS FUN!
The Jedi Chronicles: Rebellion against the Empire is an "ambience mod" for Star Wars: Battlefront by Dice. It's, simply put, Battlefront just the way I like it. It's a collection of smaller mods that turns the online multiplayer game into an offline, single player, cinematic, arcade, original trilogy experience.
I'm sharing my work here in the hope that some of the mods from this collection will appeal to Star Wars gaming fans out there and make their Battlefront experience more enjoyable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jk2lgyQ-CQ
NOTE: YOU NEED TO PREVENT THE GAME FROM GOING ONLINE (FIREWALL) OTHERWISE CERTAIN VISUAL ASPECTS OF THE MENU ARE BEING OVERRIDDEN WHICH BREAKS THE "OFFLINE GAME EXPERIENCE" THIS MOD WAS MADE FOR!
In this final version of my mod collection, I've merged all overlapping (and thus conflicting) mods into one (hence the "+" signs in some of the mod names).
I've made many small changes, too many to remember, but here are the most obvious ones:
- I changed the name of the game. I've been a Star Wars fan for as long as I can remember, but I never really liked the "Star Wars" name itself: to me it didn't really capture the lore of the saga. It seemed too superficial and generic. So I've re-branded my e-books, e-comics, movies and games to "The Jedi Chronicles". I never cared much for the "Battlefront" name either, so that's also changed. You can skip this mod if you're happy with the original names, which will probably be about everyone reading this ;)
- No intro logos. I always remove the company logos that you see at a game's startup from my games because I find them annoying. In fact, it's the main reason I took up game modding, way back when. This mod will probably be interesting for a lot of gamers.
- No splash screen animation.
- The main menu has been completely overhauled. It is now dark (black) instead of bright (white). I also removed the (now almost completely non-functional and thus obsolete) online parts, because I'm a strictly offline gamer. The submenus are now geared towards rebel gameplay only. I don't want to play as the Empire/Sith. And only ORIGINAL TRILOGY locations are available. I didn't care much for the industrial volcanic scenery. Some levels have been moved to other, more suitable, menu locations. But again, all this is a matter of personal preference.
- In the main menu you can now choose between MISSIONS or BATTLES. In the MISSIONS you are on your own, performing some kind of story mission with its intro and outro cutscenes. In the BATTLES you take part in, well, battles. So you are one of many soldiers fighting. No cutscenes here. You enter directly into the action. There are intro and outro voiceovers though.
- The loading screens have also been overhauled. New graphics and texts, and no more tips. I disliked them, and most are now (with this mod) irrelevant, anyway. If you also want the "TIPS!" header removed from the loading screens, like you can see in my screenshots and video, you will need to hexedit a game file called "cas_18.cas" (it's located in the patch-win32-installation-initialexperience folder) and replace that specific text string with zeros. I could not find another way to do that. Alternatively, you can download the edited version that comes with my mod.
- I have difficulty emerging myself in a game where I have to play something that I am not, i.e. a female or alien character. So I've made the player character to always be a caucasian human male (without a beard). Good news if you are of a different race or gender: since the project files are included, you can easily change this mod into any other character...
- I've changed the weather conditions in the second Hoth skirmish map (no more blizzard) for both land and sky battles. Now you can actually see the beautiful night sky on Hoth :)
- I've turned Jakku into Tatooine (only Original Trilogy places...) and have eliminated those over-the-top fireworks-like dogfight laser beams criss-crossing the sky.
- No more jumppacks. I don't like them, nor the influence they have on gameplay, so they're gone. Also from the cutscenes. Don't recall everything, but there's some other stuff I didn't like and took out, like burst shields (too OP) and rocket launchers (which seemed to me too antiquated technology next to laser weapons)...
- No cards. I've "simplified" gameplay by taking out the whole "gamey" aspect, like points, stars, bonuses, and cards. You see, I'm not "playing a game to win a round". I'm really there, living the Star Wars universe!
- No drop pods. For the same reason as mentioned above, I've taken out the whole drop pod aspect. I think it was a silly design decision of the devs to make you explore the map by sending you everywhere to go activate escape pods that come dropping down (from where?) with no one in it. And since in my game there are no more upgrades, boosts, recharges or anything of the kind, these pods are pretty much superfluous.
- No HUD graphics or texts, recticles, ingame 3D icons and their sound effects or holo projections. I like my games to be cinematic experiences. Also, shooting without crosshairs makes gameplay more challenging. No more anti-emersive outlines of focused enemies.
- Since during the missions you are now alone, I've removed all enemy voiceovers that refer to multiple players ("There they are!" "Blast them!" etc.) I've also edited the cutscenes to only display one instead of two (or even more) player characters.
- No screen/lens effects. Apparently, game devs nowadays think it's a good idea to have dust motes or rain drops on the computer screen during gameplay. I found these lens effects to be extremely disturbing, pulling me completely out of the game. Since I am not inside a vehicle, there is no glass - except for my computer screen - for rain drops to fall on. In my opinion, making players remember that they're behind a computer screen is as far from immersive gameplay as you can get!
- No terrestrial fauna. Something else that bothered me was seeing insects, birds and other small animals from Earth on Star Wars planets...
- I've eliminated the map borders. No more claustrophobic "return to combat" popups and countdowns to death. Now you can run around freely and engage whenever you see a good opportunity.
- Now, more often, different alien races are present in the rebel troops.
- I could not make the bodies of fallen soldiers stay, so I've gone the opposite direction, accelerating the removal of corpses (as defined in "TimeForCorpse"). They now disappear the moment they hit the ground, which to me is more acceptable then seeing bodies that lie on the ground around me disappearing into thin air without any apparent reason. I've also played around with immediate removal, as in: total disintegration when hit by a laser blast, but this only sounds good on paper. For a realistic gaming experience, the dropping animations are needed, believe me. I'd rather have the corpses not disappear at all, though...
- I tried to do the same for the ATSTs. When taken down, they have the annoying tendency to fall into akward positions, often half floating. But I wasn't able to make them despawn on impact. Although there is a setting for this (called "WreckDuration"), I couldn't make that work. I was able, however, to remove the smaller parts, you know, those ugly, blackened, low-poly or low-res shapes that almost always are floating above the ground, instead of falling all the way to the surface. Extremely disturbing sight in such a beautiful and photorealistic game...
- The same goes for the parts that come falling down when a TIE-fighter or an X-wing is shot down. Now, no parts are left over: the fighters disintegrate completely in the explosion in the air.
- I've eliminated all repetitive and non-essential cutscenes. Yes, even those meaningless panoramic views from the skirmish levels. When you play a lot, you know why.
- I never liked A-Wings nor TIE interceptors, so they're gone.
- You can now get into, and out of, an X-Wing instantly (with the X key on your keyboard), without hold-down timers or long cutscenes.
- I've made all enemies classic stormtroopers. I disliked all those other troopers, especially the snowtroopers. You know, the ones that look like klu-klux clan members. Although classic OT material, I must admit hating them since I was a kid. Also, the stormtroopers now all wear helmets, without exception. I just find it difficult to believe that the Empire's finest would not have strict rules about their gear. And, as I said before, they don't have jetpacks anymore, so no more flying stormtroopers. Another thing they don't do anymore, is making themselves invisible. I distinctly remember an Imperial commander saying. "No ship that small can have a cloaking device!" when the Millenium Falcon disappeared from the Star Destroyer's scopes. So, yeah...
There are many more little details that I've changed, but you'll have to play the mod to discover them ;)
Okay, so here's what I would like to have changed, but could not find a way to do it:
- replace the Sullust (volcanic planet) game levels with the space levels from the Death Star DLC for offline gameplay.
- give Luke the saber-throw ability (Vader's ability won't work for some reason)...
If anyone has a clue as to how to achieve these things and is willing to share it, don't hesitate! I, for one, would be very grateful :)
This mod collection was made by me, according to my personal tastes, and for my personal use. I do not expect anyone else wanting to use these mods just as they are. That's why I will upload them together with the project files, so they can be adapted easily, using the Frosty Mod Editor.
I only use my own mods and cannot guarantee compatibility of this collection with any other mods. You use my mods at your own risk and I cannot be held responsible for any consequences of their use.
I do not supply technical support, so you're on your own to find out how to install, use and modify my mods. Google is your friend, as they say, and this page should also help you further: http://frostysuite.us.to/
Other mods I made:
www.nexusmods.com/starwarsjedifallenorder/mods/181
www.nexusmods.com/forceunleashed2/mods/5
www.nexusmods.com/starwarsbattlefront22017/mods/3576
TL;DR: OLD FASHIONED (=ORIGINAL TRILOGY + OFFLINE) STAR WARS FUN!
The Jedi Chronicles: Rebellion against the Empire is an "ambience mod" for Star Wars: Battlefront by Dice. It's, simply put, Battlefront just the way I like it. It's a collection of smaller mods that turns the online multiplayer game into an offline, single player, cinematic, arcade, original trilogy experience.
I'm sharing my work here in the hope that some of the mods from this collection will appeal to Star Wars gaming fans out there and make their Battlefront experience more enjoyable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jk2lgyQ-CQ
NOTE: YOU NEED TO PREVENT THE GAME FROM GOING ONLINE (FIREWALL) OTHERWISE CERTAIN VISUAL ASPECTS OF THE MENU ARE BEING OVERRIDDEN WHICH BREAKS THE "OFFLINE GAME EXPERIENCE" THIS MOD WAS MADE FOR!
In this final version of my mod collection, I've merged all overlapping (and thus conflicting) mods into one (hence the "+" signs in some of the mod names).
I've made many small changes, too many to remember, but here are the most obvious ones:
- I changed the name of the game. I've been a Star Wars fan for as long as I can remember, but I never really liked the "Star Wars" name itself: to me it didn't really capture the lore of the saga. It seemed too superficial and generic. So I've re-branded my e-books, e-comics, movies and games to "The Jedi Chronicles". I never cared much for the "Battlefront" name either, so that's also changed. You can skip this mod if you're happy with the original names, which will probably be about everyone reading this ;)
- No intro logos. I always remove the company logos that you see at a game's startup from my games because I find them annoying. In fact, it's the main reason I took up game modding, way back when. This mod will probably be interesting for a lot of gamers.
- No splash screen animation.
- The main menu has been completely overhauled. It is now dark (black) instead of bright (white). I also removed the (now almost completely non-functional and thus obsolete) online parts, because I'm a strictly offline gamer. The submenus are now geared towards rebel gameplay only. I don't want to play as the Empire/Sith. And only ORIGINAL TRILOGY locations are available. I didn't care much for the industrial volcanic scenery. Some levels have been moved to other, more suitable, menu locations. But again, all this is a matter of personal preference.
- In the main menu you can now choose between MISSIONS or BATTLES. In the MISSIONS you are on your own, performing some kind of story mission with its intro and outro cutscenes. In the BATTLES you take part in, well, battles. So you are one of many soldiers fighting. No cutscenes here. You enter directly into the action. There are intro and outro voiceovers though.
- The loading screens have also been overhauled. New graphics and texts, and no more tips. I disliked them, and most are now (with this mod) irrelevant, anyway. If you also want the "TIPS!" header removed from the loading screens, like you can see in my screenshots and video, you will need to hexedit a game file called "cas_18.cas" (it's located in the patch-win32-installation-initialexperience folder) and replace that specific text string with zeros. I could not find another way to do that. Alternatively, you can download the edited version that comes with my mod.
- I have difficulty emerging myself in a game where I have to play something that I am not, i.e. a female or alien character. So I've made the player character to always be a caucasian human male (without a beard). Good news if you are of a different race or gender: since the project files are included, you can easily change this mod into any other character...
- I've changed the weather conditions in the second Hoth skirmish map (no more blizzard) for both land and sky battles. Now you can actually see the beautiful night sky on Hoth :)
- I've turned Jakku into Tatooine (only Original Trilogy places...) and have eliminated those over-the-top fireworks-like dogfight laser beams criss-crossing the sky.
- No more jumppacks. I don't like them, nor the influence they have on gameplay, so they're gone. Also from the cutscenes. Don't recall everything, but there's some other stuff I didn't like and took out, like burst shields (too OP) and rocket launchers (which seemed to me too antiquated technology next to laser weapons)...
- No cards. I've "simplified" gameplay by taking out the whole "gamey" aspect, like points, stars, bonuses, and cards. You see, I'm not "playing a game to win a round". I'm really there, living the Star Wars universe!
- No drop pods. For the same reason as mentioned above, I've taken out the whole drop pod aspect. I think it was a silly design decision of the devs to make you explore the map by sending you everywhere to go activate escape pods that come dropping down (from where?) with no one in it. And since in my game there are no more upgrades, boosts, recharges or anything of the kind, these pods are pretty much superfluous.
- No HUD graphics or texts, recticles, ingame 3D icons and their sound effects or holo projections. I like my games to be cinematic experiences. Also, shooting without crosshairs makes gameplay more challenging. No more anti-emersive outlines of focused enemies.
- Since during the missions you are now alone, I've removed all enemy voiceovers that refer to multiple players ("There they are!" "Blast them!" etc.) I've also edited the cutscenes to only display one instead of two (or even more) player characters.
- No screen/lens effects. Apparently, game devs nowadays think it's a good idea to have dust motes or rain drops on the computer screen during gameplay. I found these lens effects to be extremely disturbing, pulling me completely out of the game. Since I am not inside a vehicle, there is no glass - except for my computer screen - for rain drops to fall on. In my opinion, making players remember that they're behind a computer screen is as far from immersive gameplay as you can get!
- No terrestrial fauna. Something else that bothered me was seeing insects, birds and other small animals from Earth on Star Wars planets...
- I've eliminated the map borders. No more claustrophobic "return to combat" popups and countdowns to death. Now you can run around freely and engage whenever you see a good opportunity.
- Now, more often, different alien races are present in the rebel troops.
- I could not make the bodies of fallen soldiers stay, so I've gone the opposite direction, accelerating the removal of corpses (as defined in "TimeForCorpse"). They now disappear the moment they hit the ground, which to me is more acceptable then seeing bodies that lie on the ground around me disappearing into thin air without any apparent reason. I've also played around with immediate removal, as in: total disintegration when hit by a laser blast, but this only sounds good on paper. For a realistic gaming experience, the dropping animations are needed, believe me. I'd rather have the corpses not disappear at all, though...
- I tried to do the same for the ATSTs. When taken down, they have the annoying tendency to fall into akward positions, often half floating. But I wasn't able to make them despawn on impact. Although there is a setting for this (called "WreckDuration"), I couldn't make that work. I was able, however, to remove the smaller parts, you know, those ugly, blackened, low-poly or low-res shapes that almost always are floating above the ground, instead of falling all the way to the surface. Extremely disturbing sight in such a beautiful and photorealistic game...
- The same goes for the parts that come falling down when a TIE-fighter or an X-wing is shot down. Now, no parts are left over: the fighters disintegrate completely in the explosion in the air.
- I've eliminated all repetitive and non-essential cutscenes. Yes, even those meaningless panoramic views from the skirmish levels. When you play a lot, you know why.
- I never liked A-Wings nor TIE interceptors, so they're gone.
- You can now get into, and out of, an X-Wing instantly (with the X key on your keyboard), without hold-down timers or long cutscenes.
- I've made all enemies classic stormtroopers. I disliked all those other troopers, especially the snowtroopers. You know, the ones that look like klu-klux clan members. Although classic OT material, I must admit hating them since I was a kid. Also, the stormtroopers now all wear helmets, without exception. I just find it difficult to believe that the Empire's finest would not have strict rules about their gear. And, as I said before, they don't have jetpacks anymore, so no more flying stormtroopers. Another thing they don't do anymore, is making themselves invisible. I distinctly remember an Imperial commander saying. "No ship that small can have a cloaking device!" when the Millenium Falcon disappeared from the Star Destroyer's scopes. So, yeah...
There are many more little details that I've changed, but you'll have to play the mod to discover them ;)
Okay, so here's what I would like to have changed, but could not find a way to do it:
- replace the Sullust (volcanic planet) game levels with the space levels from the Death Star DLC for offline gameplay.
- give Luke the saber-throw ability (Vader's ability won't work for some reason)...
If anyone has a clue as to how to achieve these things and is willing to share it, don't hesitate! I, for one, would be very grateful :)
This mod collection was made by me, according to my personal tastes, and for my personal use. I do not expect anyone else wanting to use these mods just as they are. That's why I will upload them together with the project files, so they can be adapted easily, using the Frosty Mod Editor.
I only use my own mods and cannot guarantee compatibility of this collection with any other mods. You use my mods at your own risk and I cannot be held responsible for any consequences of their use.
I do not supply technical support, so you're on your own to find out how to install, use and modify my mods. Google is your friend, as they say, and this page should also help you further: http://frostysuite.us.to/
Other mods I made:
www.nexusmods.com/starwarsjedifallenorder/mods/181
www.nexusmods.com/forceunleashed2/mods/5
www.nexusmods.com/starwarsbattlefront22017/mods/3576