Milestone 11

<tabber>
Milestone Schedule=
==Milestone 11 - Monday, 19ᵗʰ March 2007==
Running on PC, X360 and PS3:
*Iterative improvements on a playable section of the game incorporating the Vertical Battlefront. Gameplay will be Tatooine Conquest (Instant Action) over the vertical battlefront.
Additional Deliverables:
*Jedi Force Power (Lightsaber Throw)
*AI using Jedi Force Power abilities on Tatooine for Prototype and Jedi Arena
*AI using land vehicles
*Ground to space cannon
*Capital ship to ground cannon
*Escape Pods (1st pass)
*AI spawning in space and staying in space
*Other large ships in space
*Multiple capacity vehicles (troop transports) , including respawning
*Capital ship turrets (AI only)
Art:
*Tatooine - Phase 2
*Endor - Phase 1
*CIS Cruiser - Phase 2
Setup (Multiplayer):
*Coruscant Phase 1
Setup (Story):
*Tatooine Phase 1
*Kashyyyk Phase 0
Voice delivery to Free Radical Design.
|-|Roadmap=
==Milestone 11 - Monday, 19ᵗʰ March 2007==
Summary:
*Iterative improvements towards First Playable
Content Detail:
*Additional features and improvemements towards First Playable
Game Design:
*Iterative improvements on First Playable Preview
Game Design (Multiplayer):
*Coruscant Phase 1
Game Design (Story):
*Tatooine Phase 1
*Kashyyyk Phase 0
Gameplay Features (AI):
*AI using troop transports
**Over Vertical Battlefront
*AI using land vehicles
**Over Vertical Battlefront
*AI Flying in formation (1st pass)
*Capital ship turrets (AI only)
**Turrets will be destructible
Gameplay Features (Miscellaneous):
*Hero Unlocking over Network
*Capturing CPs in vehicles
*Other large ships in space
*Arc Cutter functioning as weapon
*Health / ammo dispenser (engineer)
**With overhealth (150% health) function
*Ground to space cannon
*Capital ship to ground cannon
*Multiple capacity vehicles (troop transports)
**Featured on the LAAT Gunship
*Respawning on troop transports
**Featured on the LAAT Gunship
*Jedi Force Power (Lightsaber throw)
Art (Characters):
*Humanoid Creatures - Gungan
*Villains - Darth Maul
*Heroes - Lando Calrissian
*Soldier Models - Tarrful
Art (Planet Levels):
*Tatooine - Phase 2
*Endor - Phase 1
*CIS Cruiser - Phase 2
Art (Weapons):
*Flame Thrower
*Zam Wessell - Pistol
*Rebellion -> Soldier Class -> BlasTech DH-17 Blaster Rifle
*Rebellion -> Support Class -> BlasTech DL-44 Blaster Pistol
Art (Vehicles):
*AT-ST (+ cockpit) (Scout Walker)
*Droid Gunship
*TIE Fighter
Production:
*Deliver Windows Build
*Deliver Xbox 360 Build
*Deliver PS3 Build
|-|Release Notes=
==BF3: March MS11 - Release Notes (19/3/07)==
Console Prerequisites
XBOX 360
FLASH 4548
XDK 5426 
PLAYSTATION 3
SDK 1.5.0
This above is as per MS10
Tatooine (tat.res) VBF
Conquest mode ALL PLATFORMS 
MAJOR FEATURES
Populated space
Frigates NEW
Work in progress
Troop Transports - the LAAT for republic
Respawning on troop transports NEW
AI piloting troop transports NEW
Should wait for a few seconds if other units nearby
VBF cannons
Camera showing flight of rockets NEW
Console interface NEW
Effect NEW
Health
Engineer class using health/ammo dispensor NEW
Overhealth NEW
Hero bar boosted by hero point gains (kills) NEW
Vehicles
AI using land vehicles NEW
Rep. Hover tank outside base NEW
Landing
On screen prompt when able to land NEW
Camera
Sniper Zoom (R3) NEW
NB. Work-in-progress
Crosshair on by default NEW
HUD improvements
Character Name Tags NEW
Name of class on class select menu NEW
Text messages in left hand corner NEW
E.g. Steve entered the battle
Joe killed Steve
NB. Work-in-progress
Better on-screen prompts – vehicles, VBF cannons NEW
Command posts
Bridge CIS
Walkways room CIS
Gun room CIS
Krayt Dragon Cave
Homestead 
Landing bay REPUBLIC
Cantina REPUBLIC
Republic base REPUBLIC
NB. Command post effect is placeholder
AI
Roles manager, so each character knows his role in the battle when he spawns NEW
Roles manager dictates which class each unit spawns as
Less defending
Some AI’s role is simply engage in a fight
Always 1 AI whose role is to pilot a troop transport
Class menu
Republic Faction			
SOLDIER	
Clone Trooper	
DC-15 Blaster Rifle
Rep. Sonic Charge launcher	
Grenades
HEAVY WEAPONS	
Clone Heavy Trooper	
Rep. Rocket Launcher
Rep. Shotgun	
V1 Thermal detonators
SNIPER	
Clone Sharpshooter	
DC-15x Sniper Rifle
Rep. Disruptor Pistol	
V1 Thermal detonators
SUPPORT	
Clone Engineer	
Rep. Arc cutter
DC-17 Pistol	
Detpak
MELEE	
Lancer Trooper	
Power lance	
Grenade
HERO TIER B	
Clone Skytrooper	
DC-15 Blaster Rifle NEW
Rep. Shotgun NEW	
Grenade
HERO TIER A	
Mace Windu	
Purple light saber	
Lightsaber Throw NEW
Force push
Force pull
Force Repulse
CIS Faction			
SOLDIER	
Battle Droid	
E5 Blaster Rifle
CIS Sonic Charge launcher	
Grenades
HEAVY WEAPONS	
Super Battle Droid	
Wrist rockets
Wrist repeating blaster	
V1 Thermal detonators
SNIPER	
Assassin Droid	
E5s Sniper Rifle
Disrupter Pistol	
V1 Thermal detonators
SUPPORT	
Engineer Droid	
CIS Arc cutter
Separatist Blaster Pistol	
Detpak
MELEE	
Magnadroid NEW	
Electrostaff	
Grenade
HERO TIER B	
Zam Wessel	
Zam Wessel Sniper rifle
Zam Wessel Pistol NEW	
Grenade
HERO TIER A	
Count Dooku NEW	
Red light sabre	
Lightsabre Throw NEW
Force lightning
Force choke
Tatooine
Story mode ALL PLATFORMS
Story Phase 1
CIS_Cruiser
Conquest mode ALL PLATFORMS
*Conquest mode on cis cruiser only
Story mode ALL PLATFORMS
Story Phase 1
Coruscant
Conquest mode ALL PLATFORMS
*Conquest mode
*Multiplayer phase 1 - Base level of Setup.
Initial CP's & Vehicle Spawns for commencement of Play Testing
==Art Phase 2==
Tatooine NEW CIS Cruiser NEW
==Art Phase 1==
Endor NEW
==Art - Work in progress (PC ONLY)==
Death Star 2 Interior (death_star2.res)
Desolation Station (desolation.res)
Tributary beam (tributary.res)
====Cato Neimodia (cato_neimoidia.res)====
Mustafar (mustafar.res)
Reb cruiser (reb_cruiser.res)
Hoth (hoth.res)
Bespin (bespin.res)
Dathomir (dathomir.res)
Dantooine (dantooine.res)
Yavin (yavin.res)
Rep_cruiser (rep_cruiser.res)
==Art Phase 0==
Kashyyyk
*Blockout NEW
==Tests==
Test room (ai_test.res) ALL PLATFORMS
*50 AI
Jedi vs infantry test in test room (jedi_infantry_test.res) ALL PLATFORMS
Duel in test room (duel.res) ALL PLATFORMS
*Single player or splitscreen
*In singleplayer, option to choose AI class (or Random)
==Network (2-8 players)==
*As single player in Conquest (not freeplay)
==Known problems:==
PLAYSTATION 3
*Terrain lightmap outside the playable area occasionally turns black
XBOX 360
*Restarting during network games unreliable
*Occasional network crashes
*Sniper zoom (R3) is broken
*If run out of texture memory, can see corrupt textures in distance
General
*Network games with AI less reliable
*If AI is in network game, server must wait until client loads level before spawning
*Occasional physics crashes with large number of AI
*Dynamic shadows on props absent due to the presence of bad artefacts caused by an engine bug
==Optimisations==
*Serialisation sped up. Our dictionary parser was taking too long when new objects were being created (i.e. serialised). We have flattened out some of the dictionaries, removing several recursive calls. This removes spikes when spawning vehicles, players, guns)
*Characters using render LODs. 3 LODs for each in-game character.
*Cloth. Turns off at a distance, and off-screen.
*Prop lighting at distance degradation. Real-time lighting on characters, vehicles, and props is degraded at a distance.
*HDR optimisation. Now using 16-bit buffers instead of 32-bit, improving memory and performance.
*FUTURE OPTIMISATION: We are at the start of a session of performance profiling. Once analysis is complete further optimisation plans can be made.
==Stage (PC only)==
(with clone trooper helmet revisions)
Heroes & Villains
*Darth Vader
*Mace Windu
*Jango Fett
*Princess Leia
*Lando Calrissian
*Zam Wessel
*Droideka
*IG88
*Rep. Clone Skytrooper
*Darth Sidious / Emperor
*Darth Tyrannus / Count Dooku
*Darth Maul NEW
*Tarrful NEW
Imperials
*Imp. Officer
*Imp. Stormtrooper
*Imp. Scout trooper
*Imp. Snow Trooper
*Imp. Pilot (Engineer)
Rebels
*Rebel Marksman
Republic
*Rep. Clone Commander
*Rep. Clone Trooper
*Clone Sharpshooter
*Rep. Clone Jet Trooper (engineer)
*Rep. Clone Heavy Trooper
CIS
*MagnaGuard
*Battle Droid
*Super Battle Droid
*Assassin Droid
*Pilot Droid
Droids
*C-3PO
*R2-D2
*MSE-6 (Box) Droid
*Medical Droid
*Dwarf Spider Droid
*Tri-Droid
*Ammo / power droid
*R4G9
*Buzz Droid
*Imperial Probe Droid
Beasts
*Rancor
*Krayt Dragon
*Ewok
*Gungan NEW
Space Vehicles
*Millenium Falcon
*Imp. TIE Interceptor
*Rep. X-Wing
*Sith Infiltrator
*Rep. Gunship (LAAT)
*CIS Gunship NEW
*CIS Droid Starfighter
*Rebel B-Wing
*Rebel V-Wing
*Rebel A-Wing
*Rebel Y-Wing
*Rep. Starfighter
*CIS Tri-fighter
*Imperial shuttle
*CIS Landing ship
*CIS Escape Pod
*Imp. Tie Fighter NEW
Ground Vehicles
*CIS Hailfire droid
*CIS AAT
*Rep. Clone Hovertank
*Sith Speeder
*Imp. Speeder Bike
*Rep. BARC Speeder
*Imp. AT-ST NEW
Weapons
*CIS Electrostaff
*Rep. Vibrolance (Power Lance)
*Westar-34 Blaster
*Rep. DC-15 Blaster
*Rep. DC-15a Blaster Rifle
*Imp. E11 Blaster Rifle
*CIS E-5 Blaster Rifle
*Reb DH-17 Blaster Rifle NEW
*E-3 Blaster Rifle
*Zam Wessel Sniper rifle
*Rep. DC15s Pistol
*CIS Blaster Pistol
*Rep. Disruptor Pistol
*CIS Disruptor Pistol
*Reb. DL-44 Blaster Pistol
*Zam Wessel Pistol NEW
*Rep. Shotgun
*Rep. Grenade Launcher
*CIS Sonic Charge Launcher
*Rep. Rocket Launcher
*Rep. Sorosuub Fusion Cutter
*CIS Arc Cutter
*Rep. Fusion Cutter
*Rep. Thermal Detonator
*Rep. Det Pack
*Rep. Mine (HX2)
Props
*Rebel Turret (Desert)
|-|Milestone Feedback=
Project Title: Battlefront III
Developer: Free Radical Design
Milestone: Milestone 11
Production: Jamil Dawsari
Gabe Gils Carbo
James Morris
Orion Kellogg
Milestone Review 
March 19ᵗʰ, 2007
Milestone 9 - Monday 19ᵗʰ March 2007
Running on PC, X360 and PS3
Iterative improvements on a playable section of the game incorporating the Vertical Battlefront. Gameplay will be Tatooine Conquest (Instant Action) over the vertical battlefront [Lucasarts]: APPROVED
Additional deliverables:
Jedi Force Power (Lightsabre throw) [Lucasarts]: APPROVED
AI using Jedi Force Power abilities on Tatooine for Prototype and Jedi Arena [Lucasarts]: APPROVED
AI using land vehicles [Lucasarts]: APPROVED w/changes
Ground to space cannon [Lucasarts]: APPROVED
Capital ship to ground cannon [Lucasarts]: APPROVED
Other large ships in space [Lucasarts]: APPROVED
Multiple capacity vehicles (troop transports) , including respawning [Lucasarts]: APPROVED
Capital ship turrets (AI only) [Lucasarts]: APPROVED
Art 
Tatooine - Phase 2 [Lucasarts]: NOT APPROVED
Endor - Phase 1 [Lucasarts]: APPROVED
CIS Cruiser - Phase 2 [Lucasarts]: APPROVED with changes
Setup (Multiplayer)
Coruscant Phase 1 [Lucasarts]: APPROVED w/changes
Setup (Story)
Tatooine Phase 1 [Lucasarts]: APPROVED w/changes
Kashyyyk Phase 0 [Lucasarts]: APPROVED
Voice delivery to FRD [Lucasarts]: Deferred pending recording session
Review Issues	
Classification-A	
Classification-B	
Classification-C
Performance	
0	
2	
1
Iterative FPM improvements	
0	
1	
2
Force Power: Lightsaber Throw	
0	
1	
0
AI using Jedi Force Powers	
0	
0	
2
AI using land vehicles	
0	
3	
0
Ground to space cannon	
0	
3	
6
Capital ship to ground cannon	
0	
3	
1
Other large ships in space	
0	
0	
2
Multiple capacity vehicles	
0	
3	
3
Capital ship turrets	
0	
1	
2
Art – Tatooine phase 2	
4	
10	
17
Art – Endor phase 1	
0	
7	
3
Art – CIS Cruiser phase 1	
0	
4	
5
Setup (multip.) Coruscant phase 1	
0	
3	
2
Setup (story) – Tatooine phase 1	
0	
1	
1
Setup (story) – Kashyyyk phase 0	
0	
0	
1
Voice delivery to FRD	
N/A	
N/A	
N/A
Total	
4	
40	
49
For your benefit we have chosen to classify the importance of areas for this milestone review under a classification of A, B and C, where C is of less consequence.
To obtain a pass, you are required to implement the review areas under Classification-A as high priority. You may also need to resolve Classification-Class Bs to improve the quality of the game as part of this milestone or as a part of future milestone submissions. Addressing issues that LucasArts may raise against a Classification-C, will further improve the Overall product quality under our criteria, but these issues are not significant towards a pass if you are at not at or beyond the Alpha stage of development. 
==Build Performance==
Overall
Framerate was generally maintained from the last build, although it remains too low on the 360.
Good
On high end PCs, the build maintains its 15+ fps with 25 AI.
Areas to Improve
Class B: The PC version crashes even more often than previous builds. It’s now almost completely impossible to Play a game, go to the main menu, and start a new map without crashing.
Class B: Load time on the 360 and PC is significantly higher than MS10.[FRD: This is likely to be due to loading more audio. Try using +no-sound +jit command line switches]
Class C: Strange graphic corruption on 360 build starting instant action game on Tatooine. This happens fairly inconsistently.
MS10Tat01a.png
STATUS: APPROVED
==Iterative Improvements on FPM==
Good
Very cool seeing the AI flying in formation. 
We like the new text warnings such as “Caution: Nearing the battlefront perimeter”
Areas to Improve
Bug: On the 360 build, the music cuts out shortly after it starts, or after player input. 
Bug: The camera clips through world geometry and static objects. This did not happen in previous milestones (or was not noticeable).
Class C: The engineer’s health and ammo dispenser provides characters with grenades that should not be able to carry them. E.g. Jedi and Engineers can pick up and use grenades after walking over the dispenser.
[FRD: We’ll investigate this.]
Art
Note: The magna guard is too small. He should be taller than a regular trooper.
Design
Note: The cloud layer on Tatooine are gone. Is this intentional?[FRD: Yes. Checking reference of Tatooine it didn’t seem appropriate to have a cloud layer]
Class B: Melee characters lock onto each other automatically during Instant Action, in the same manner used in the duel arena. We find this mechanic extremely difficult to use in melee combat.
Using circle strafe can lead to two players chasing each other without reaching each other.
It’s difficult, near impossible to disengage from a melee fight without walking backwards.
Switching targets is difficult and cumbersome.
We feel that players should be able to toggle the lock on/off manually.
When will target lock for other characters come online? 
In general melee combat should be much more dynamic and interesting to watch and play than it was in BF2. There should be directional moves, flourishes, saber locks, more cinematic camera angles, etc.
[FRD: We’ll investigate these suggestions]
Note: When the engineer drops a det pack, his weapon should switch to a detonator. Firing the detonator then sets off the detpack. 
Currently after dropping the first detpack, pressing fire again will both drop a new detpack and detonate the last detpack.
[FRD: We’ll investigate this.]
Note: Player created/deployed objects should fade out after the player’s death if they’re still around when the player dies.[FRD: We’ll investigate this suggestion]
Class C: AI do not fall back into their formations after one of the wingman dies, it appears that they only get into formation at the initial spawn. The expectation is that AI will reform into squadrons.
[FRD: We’ll investigate this.]
Bug: The sniper zoom camera doesn’t work properly on the PS3. The camera continuosly cycles between the 3rd person POV and the 1st person zoomed in POV of the rifle when it’s activated.
Bug: The PS3 blaster audio sounds muted.
STATUS: APPROVED
==Jedi Force Power: Lightsaber Throw==
Overall
Good first pass on the lightsaber throw
Good
This will give Jedi a long range attack.
Areas to Improve
Class B: The lightsaber doesn’t damage enemies that it’s thrown through.
Note: Will players be able to aim the saber after it’s thrown?
[FRD: We like the idea of aftertouch – we’ll investigate.]
Art
Note: Is the animation placeholder?
[FRD: Yes.]
Design
Note: The lightsaber throw can’t be done consistently if the enemy is in melee range. Is this intended? 
[FRD: This may be a bug and will be fixed.]
STATUS: APPROVED
==AI using Jedi Force Powers on Tatooine for FPM and Jedi Arena==
Overall
The AI use all their force powers effectively when fighting non-melee units.
Good
When they use their force powers, they do so aggressively and in a way that makes sense.
 
Areas to Improve
Design
Note: On Tatooine the AI Hero immediately jumps onto a starfighter, and usually gets killed before reaching the other layer.
Bug: It appears that the lightsaber is damaging the ship that the Jedi is in, thus causing his death in a short amount of time.
[FRD: This is the hero bar depleting rather than player energy]
Bug: Once a hero dies in instant action, the option to be a hero again doesn’t come up during the same match.
Note: it doesn’t look like the AI are affected by the stamina bar. They use sprint and other powers very frequently.
[FRD: We’ll investigate this]
Class C: The AI appears to use the Force powers indiscriminately, i.e. Darth will Choke then switch immediately to Lightning then Sprint into saber range – all in quick succession. The AI should hold a certain Force power long enough for its use to register on the player, i.e. consider that the spend 50% of their Force bar in using a specific power at any one time.
[FRD: Noted]
Class C: It’s expected that the AI opponent and slice him down then Lightning a distant opponent and use Force block to redirect any incoming shots, etc. Of course, when the distinct saber styles come online, specific Force users should have distinct combat styles, i.e. Vader is not a rush at the victim kind of guy, he uses Force powers from a distance whereas Mace Windu would definitely bull-rush his opponent.[FRD: Noted]
STATUS: APPROVED
==AI using land vehicles==
Overall
First pass of AI using land vehicles
Good
AI are using vehicles as transports between CPs.
Areas to Improve
Design
Class B: The AI invariably end up driving their tanks into walls that they are unable to navigate around. 
MS10Tat02a.jpg
[FRD: We’ll investigate this – it may be related to framerate]
Class B: This feature only works on Tatooine Instant Action. AI are ignoring vehicles on other Instant Action maps.[FRD: This is intentional as it is only Tatooine that has had any vehicle setup on it]
Class B: The expectation is that AI will recover quickly when their forward movement is blocked and either seek out an alternate route or jump out of the vehicle and proceed on foot. If there is combat nearby, the expectation is that the AI will ‘march to the sound of guns.’
[FRD: Agreed and noted]
Note: It was understood that the AI using vehicles would not be sophisticated but at the moment they don’t use them intelligently at all. For example a soldier may use a tank to get to a CP, exit the tank and then walk to an entirely different CP without actually capturing the CP that was their initial objective.
[FRD: Noted]
STATUS: APPROVED with changes
==Ground to space cannon==
Overall
Yay
Good
We were able to destroy a gunship flown in front of the cannon as it fired. Very good job gentlemen! The VBF is starting to feel like a single battlefront.
Areas to Improve
Class B: The Ion Cannon is not present on the PS3 build. Using the console results in a grey screen with the mini-map interface for the cannon. The player cannot aim the cannon but is able to exit and to use the fire button. Firing results in a large blue explosion in the area that the Ion cannon normally is. Is this a bug?[FRD: Yes, this is a bug.]
Art
Class B: Using the minimap to aim the cannon is unclear to the player. There needs to be a more immersive and satisfying method of aiming the cannon.[FRD: Noted. We’ll see what can be done to improve this.]
Class C: Because the player is viewing the ion cannon through a computer panel, you’d expect to see a filter or overlay on the camera mounted on top of the cannon.
[FRD: Noted.]
Class B: The projectile doesn’t match the ion effect seen in most Star Wars games. It should be a solid blue beam, possibly with a bulge at the end. It should not resemble a projectile or a rocket.
Note: Ballistic projectiles are fine for other ground to space weapons that we come up with, just not for the ion cannon.
Note: In the movies, classic Era – All troops fire red blasts. Imperial Spaceships fire green blasts. Prequel Era – Republic troops fires blue blasts. Droids fire red blasts. Naboo blasters, and some Republic starfighters fire green.
Note: For games a number of conventions have been used to assign gameplay properties to red, green, and blue blasts. Typically blue indicates ion damage and red indicates physical damage.
[FRD: Noted. Is there an extended style sheet for this topic – if so we can integrate it into our wiki]
Note: Our expectation is that there will be a very satisfying effect at the point of impact on a capital ship.[FRD: Agreed]
Design
Class C: While we like the POV when steering the cannon, having the camera move to above the cannon is not something we would want to ship with. What is the UI final design when using the cannon? Expectation at the minimum is that the player will have some sort of filter over his HUD to make it seem as if he’s looking through a camera, etc (see art point above). [FRD: We’ll investigate]
Class B: The location of the cannon console needs reworking. Having a lone console in the middle of a large room doesn’t make sense or look aesthetic. The console needs to be readily apparent and fit naturally into its setting.[FRD: We’ll investigate]
Class C: Needs to show the actual cannon firing, i.e. barrel of cannon rocking back with shot.[FRD: Agreed]
Class C: The expectation is that there will be a soundfx as the cannon rotates on it’s bearings.[FRD: Agreed]
Class C: Camera should be closer to the “missile” during the transition
Will different weapons have different effects?
[FRD: Yes]
Will they all be single shot or will they fire in bursts?
[FRD: Single shot]
Possibly there can be a primary and a secondary fire option?
[FRD: We don’t see this as a possibility]
Class C: We’ve noted multiple camera angles when the shot impacts its target. What is the final design for this?
[FRD: This is still under review]
Note: We are interested in trying the aiming mechanic as per our conference call wherein the player can ‘steer’ the shot.
Note: Ion beams should not be “steerable”, although steering rockets or charged shells would be fine.
[FRD: Agreed]
Note: How often do you envision players being able to fire the cannon?
Will they be single shots with some recharge time, or can players fire several shots before the cannon has to recharge?
[FRD: Our plan is for single shots – around one per twenty seconds. This will be refined through gameplay and balancing]
STATUS: APPROVED
==Capital ship to ground cannon==
Overall
Excellent first pass at the capital ship bombardment.
Good
We were able to destroy the ships on the republic base surface using the capital ship bombardment.
Areas to Improve
Art
Class B: The target selection screen needs to be tighter on the playable area. As is right now players can target the entirety of the ground map, 90% of which isn’t playable.
[FRD: Agreed]
Class B: As in the Ion cannon, the targeting system needs to be refined.
[FRD: Noted]
Class B: We need cannons on the capital ship from which to fire
Note: We expect that the visual look of the orbital bombardment will be different from that of the ion cannon / planetary cannon.[FRD: Noted]
Design
Class C: The camera should pull out on impact so the player can experience the payoff.[FRD: Agreed]
Note: other comments as in the feedback for Ground-to-Space cannon 
Note: Consider allowing players to target a general area on the map and fire a volley of shots at the ground. Less precision but covers more area.[FRD: We’ll investigate this]
STATUS: APPROVED
==Other large ships in space==
Overall
This is starting to look great. The additional ships really add to the space population.
Areas to Improve
Design
Class C: Expectation is that the ships will move in space. How will this occur? On a track, scripted, or dynamically reacting to what happens, i.e. defenders destroy a frigate between the capital ship and ground, another frigate moves in to screen the capital ship.[FRD: We’ll investigate this]
NOTE: Consider that frigates would move between the capital ship and ground, screening the cap ship from ground fire and incoming starfighters. Defenders would have to fly past the frigates firing at them to attack/land on the capital ship. Would also give a reason to steer the ground cannon fire, as you might be able to thread it past the maneuvering frigates.
[FRD: Noted]
Class C: The overall placement of the capital ships and frigates appears temporary. The expectation is that the ships will be placed in positions which make sense and that non-interactive ships, i.e. billboards, will not look so attractive as to entice the player to investigate. NOTE: one option we had discussed was having those ships direct a withering amount of fire at any approaching player which when used in conjunction with the RETURN TO BATTLE prompt would be more contextually satisfying, i.e. “that ship is too well defended! Let’s focus on easier prey,” or somesuch.[FRD: This is a fairly large and may be quite complex. We’ll investigate what is possible.]
Note: When will frigates be destructible?[FRD: Gibs should be present in the May build.]
Note: Will frigates respawn once destroyed?
[FRD: No]
Note: If so, what is the effect? Do they hyperspace in?
Note: What will frigates fire on?
[FRD: The player’s ship and other attacking craft]
Note: What is the incentive for players to destroy the frigates?[FRD: To stop being attacked]
 
STATUS: APPROVED
==Multiple capacity vehicles (troop transports), including respawning==
Overall
Good first pass at multiple capacity vehicles.
Areas to Improve
Bug: Spawning on the republic gunship during a game on the 360 crashed the game.
Bug: Passengers in the CIS transport appear standing on the exterior of the ship.
Art
Class B: The CIS gunship isn’t lit properly. It’s too dark. This may be a Tatooine only problem.
[FRD: We’ll investigate this]
Class B: Spawning on the CIS gunship has the model sitting in space, not in the vehicle.
[FRD: This is a prop lighting issue]
Design
Class B: The gunship should be an available spawn at all times, not just when there is a pilot in it. Otherwise, it loses it’s utility as a means of getting up or down the VBF quickly.[FRD: We disagree – this would have a detrimental effect on balance]
Class C: Currently players are able to exit the gunship at any time by pressing the triangle button. Of course the majority of the time this results in player death. Players shouldn’t be able to exit during flight unless they’re close to the ground.
[FRD: This is a bug]
Class C: it’s currently possible for the passenger to shoot and destroy one’s own ship.[FRD: This to do with the default ‘health’ state of ships]
Class C: The CIS gunship needs to have some functionality which helps balance the Republic gunship’s ability to have its passengers use their weapons while flying. NOTE: perhaps the LAAT gunship doors close at a certain point above the ground, thus only allowing the player to deploy their passenger weapons for a shorter duration?[FRD: Doors closing on gunship doors – agreed]
 
STATUS: APPROVED
==Capital ship turrets (AI only)==
Overall
Good first pass on AI turrets.
Good
The turrets can be destroyed! 
Areas to Improve
Art
Class B: The laser fire from the turrets is very hard to spot. It needs to be much more visible.
Design
Class C: We only spotted 4 turrets on the top portion of the CIS cruiser well above the hangar – and not in a position to pose a threat to incoming opponents, and 3 at the front. There need to be additional turrets on the cruiser, including on the bottom section.
[FRD: Agreed]
Expectation is that the frigates will also have turrets
[FRD: Agreed]
Bug: The turrets only seem to engage when the player is extremely close to them.
Class C: The turrets seem to spin continuously when they don’t have a target. They should stay still, or occasionally pan around.
[FRD: Agreed – we’ll investigate]
<gallery position="center" spacing="large" widths="310">
MS10Tat03a.jpg
STATUS: APPROVED
==Art – Tatooine Phase 2==
[FRD: Tatooine Art Phase 2 - discussed in detail in person]
Overall
There are some steps forward here, but overall, Tatooine does not show the level of quality as evidenced in other levels, i.e. Mustafar/Dantooine (Jedi Enclave)
It is understood that certain bugs are affecting how textures are displayed in the level, but the feedback below is based upon the perceived quality of textures in the deliverable.
Good
The lighting in the level is much better.
Scaling the buildings up has made a big difference to the making it feel like a small town. 
Terrain heightmap is good – nice irregularity to the heightmap especially near low walls to give a visual cue that a player can jump over that section.
We like the dirty/unkempt look of the tunnel that leads to the landing bay.
Areas to Improve
Art
Class A: The Krayt Cave does not show the level of quality we expect at phase 2
Class A: The Homestead interior does not show the level of quality we expect from phase 2
Class A: The Republic Base interior does not show the level of quality we expect at phase 2
Class A: There are numerous instances of textures at eye-level being low resolution and low fidelity. (see previous ftp for examples)
Class A: The Outpost does not show the level of quality we expect at phase 2
Class B: The terrain map of tatooine is clearly visible from space as a large square.
Ms10tat04a.jpg
Class B: Expectation is to have the larger city of Mos Espa evident as the player transitions the layer downward. 
Bug: A large number of textures on this map are low-res textures. This appears to be caused by a bug where low-res textures are being streamed in rather than hi-res textures.
 
Ms10tat04b.jpg
Ms10tat04c.jpg
Class B: The new homestead building looks like it can offer some interesting gameplay. However due to its new look we need to change the name of it from Homestead to something else.
Class B: The interior of the homestead has very low res textures.
Class B: This building is floating on air.
Class B: As this is a CP, it needs to be more interesting inside then just a big empty room.
Class B: In general all the starfighters/vehicles on Tatooine look too dark given the bright ambient light. 
ms10tat04d.jpg
ms10tat04e.jpg
Class B: The windows on many of the buildings do not look three dimensional, they look painted on.
Class C: Krayt Cave - We need more stalactites/stalagmites in the cave, preferably ones that are destructible.
We would like to see players able to detonate an explosive, or fire a shot, and send rubble raining down that in turn can cause damage to enemies.
Class C: Krayt Cave - Not all of the ceiling cracks in the cave seem to be looking at the outside. 
ms10tat05.jpg
Are they intended to be the lightsource for the cave?
Class C: Krayt Cave – the cave is too small for the dragon, unless one of the tunnels is made larger, it would appear that the dragon is stuck in the cave until someone comes in as its dinner. 
Alternatively, perhaps there could be a large tunnel that leads off the main floor and it is from here that the dragon issues – it’s never expected that he will be leaving via the soldier tunnel access points.
Class C: The bones around the cave area should be scattered about the cave floor, rather than neatly arranged as a skeleton. It looks like an animal crawled out of the cave and died there rather than was eaten by the dragon.
Class C: The Sarlaac doesn’t look like it’s blended into the environment. 
Class C: The sandstorm effect particles look like fog rather than sand.
Class C: The CIS landing ship is floating over the ground. 
Will this function as a vehicle spawn point as per the design doc? Meaning it flies in from space, lands, and produces vehicles?
Will the front panel always be open? In its current position players will want to explore the interior but there’s nothing to explore.
Will its guns fire?
Class C: There should be more junk/debris on the ground in Mos Espa, along with vendor huts/stands.
Class C: Ambient particle effects such as the smoke coming from huts should be whiter or grey. Black smoke translates to players as something burning due to damage.
There should be an overall wind direction, and the smoke should be affected by it.
Ships flying through the smoke should disturb it.
Class C: The landing area of the republic base should be dirtier, due to all the traffic. We like the one scuff mark that currently exists.
Class C: The ceiling directly on top of the cantina’s bar is lit incorrectly. Is this a bug?
Note: it actually looks like there may be a hole in the geometry of the ceiling.
Class C: Some areas of the landing bay are completely unlit, mostly at the edge of the pit.
Class C: The room with the horizontal slit that looks into the landing bay looks very bare. It could benefit from having a panel or a ticket counter. It feels like the Blair Witch room.
Class C: The main computer room in the republic base still uses the “Dripping Aurabesh” matrix-like effect. This isn’t a Star Wars look.
ms10tat06.jpg
Class C: The green holographic panels around Tatooine are too bright. It makes the images they display very hard to discern unless one is on top of them. 
ms10tat07.jpg
Class C: The circle of sand around the slanted columns in the republic base is too regular. The strut is also low-res.
ms10tat08.jpg
Class B: The walls of the republic base still have a lot of repeating textures, and odd shadow shapes.
ms10tat09.jpg
Class C: The sand around the landing bay entrance tunnel isn’t flush with the structure.
Tat10MS.jpg
Note: It’d be good to have some sort of state change on the panels next to doors that open/close. In general, these panels/buttons should be actual objects rather than painted textures with normal maps. See example below of one such object.
Tat10MSa.jpg
Note: Will the cantina have bottles/glasses other breakables placed throughout the interior?
Note: Cave reference will be available on the FTP. See also, the cave on Mustafar.
Note: The impending Sandcrawler looks nice as one flies to the town
Note: Are the circular objects to the south of the playable area Tuskan Raider huts? If so, well done!
Design
Class B: There are a number of wobbly looking awnings, and other small tents made of cloth and wood. These either need to be destructible or look convincingly enough that they could stop a vehicle/explosive.
Note: Do the logos throughout the republic base indicate points where there will be republic turrets?
Note: Is it still the plan to change the buildings around the sarlaac pit into garbage piles?
Note: There are a few interesting places where players can get up on to rooftops. This adds a nice secondary route across the map, and provides interesting elevation. However, it is difficult to navigate in theses areas as characters pop and slide against the collision.
STATUS: NOT APPROVED
==Art – Endor Phase 1==
Overall
Phase 1 received.
Good
The orange lightning effect shown inside the shield generator bunker.
Seeing the giant radar dish in the background. We are guessing it’s outside the playable/flyable area, is that the case? We would love to have this be more prominent in the general skyline for the level, as currently it’s only visible when flying.
Areas to Improve
Art
Class B: The foliage on the ground is too repetitive. It needs to have a fair amount of variation.
[FRD: Noted]
Class B: The forest in the playable are looks to be too sparse.
[FRD: Noted]
We’d like to see really large trees as well. Most of the trees look fairly mundane.
Class B: The Ewok village looks too small. We only saw 4 Ewok huts.
[FRD: Noted – we’ll add out-of-reach detail to improve the density of the environment]
Class B: The textures of the trees look like placeholder quality. Is that the case or is this a bug like on Tatooine?
The ground/terrain texture also looks like a placeholder.
[FRD: Noted]
Class B: The non-playable area should look like an impenetrable forest for the most part. Currently it looks like the plains of Naboo.
[FRD: Agreed]
Class B: What we assume is the playable area looks like a very defined dark square when looking at it from space.
[FRD: We’ll investigate this]
Class B: The terrain pops into view in large squares very close to the player’s POV. Beyond that it looks like blackness. Is this a bug?
[FRD: We’ll investigate this]
Class C: The ambient light source doesn’t seem to be where the sun is in the sky.
[FRD: Any ambient light in the game won’t have a specific light source. We will however ensure consistency in light and shadows]
We like the rotting log that can be walked through.
Will there be more hollow trees and other such features?
[FRD: Yes]
Class C: The shield generator bunker is too dark.
[FRD: Noted]
Class C: There’s a CP/spawn point called “cave” but this area doesn’t look like a cave.
Note: It’s not clear how/where the AT-AT’s would dock with the landing platform as seen in the movies.
Will there be an AT-AT in this map? If it doesn’t fit the gameplay design maybe we can put one in the non-playable area?
[FRD: This is under review]
Design
Note: It’s fairly easy to fall from the platforms in the trees.
[FRD: Noted]
Note: Will there be Ewok traps such as the smashing logs?
[FRD: Yes]
Note: These were part of previous BF Endor maps.
Note: The flow of the map is unclear. Can we get an overhead map with CPs called out?
[FRD: We’ll investigate this]
Note: Is the structure in the opposite end of imperial landing bay intended as the Rebel’s starfighter landing area?
[FRD: Yes]
Note: Will the rebels have a cruiser in this map? In the classic trilogy this is the biggest space battle that occurs.
[FRD: Yes – The Rebels will have frigates in the map.]
Note: We would expect the non-playable area to be extremely dense, like the battle of Coruscant.
[FRD: Noted]
 
STATUS: APPROVED with changes
==Art - CIS Cruiser Phase 2==
Overall
Phase 2 received.
Good
We like the new color of the hangar shield. 
We were very happy to see the additional vertical shafts and windows throughout the ceiling of the cruiser. 
We haven’t mentioned previously but we love the 3D-looking panels at the back of the bridge room. They look great.
CIS10Ms.jpg
Areas to Improve
Art
Class B: On the 360 build, the interior of the capital ship is extremely dark. It’s too dark to see enemies and occasionally too dark to navigate properly.
On the PC build, the interior is also too dark, but not as much as badly as on the 360 build.
[FRD: Noted – Lightmap issues]
Class B: The exterior of the CIS cruiser looks very low-res. We understand that this is caused by the same streaming bug affecting Tatooine. If that’s not the case, would you clarify?
CruiserMS10a.jpg
CIS10Ms.jpg
Class B: The ship’s engines look un-textured.
Cruiser001.jpg
[FRD: These were the results of the texture streaming bug]
Note: Our expectation is that they will have some sort of glowing engine effect. 
[FRD: Noted]
Class B: Where is the gun for the orbital strike?
[FRD: This is in progress]
Class B: The portal corner windows that look into the hangar don’t work when the player is standing next to them.
[FRD: Can you provide screenshots or co-ordinates?]
Class B: The doors in the CIS ship are completely unlit.
Some of the doors have a circle that looks to be untextured. 
[FRD: Noted]
Class C: When looking at the planetary horizon from the ship’s bridge, it feels too featureless.
[FRD: Noted]
Class C: The starfield in space doesn’t have enough stars visible or bright enough.
[FRD: Noted]
Note: When will the textures / panels be animated? (We noted that one set of panels is already animating in the turbo laser room, and they look great!).
[FRD: Noted]
Class C: The lightning in the reactor room doesn’t seem attached to the world.
Cruiser002.jpg
[FRD: Noted]
Class B: The reactor as a featureless cylinder in the reactor room is not satisfying. 
Class C: When looking straight down the barrel of a turbo laser cannon within the ship, it looks like part of the barrel can be seen through.
[FRD: This is a bug]
Class B: There is evident battle damage inside the CIS ship (damaged turbo-laser battery & walkway strut) but there is no evident damage on the outside of the ship. This is out of context and needs to be addressed. Moreover, if this is the only CIS ship model we are using it becomes extremely evident with this sort of specific battle damage.
cruiser003.jpg
[FRD: This is something we can address using decals]
Class C: The horizontal lines on the hangar shield probably need to be made wider. Currently they cause a lot of visual artifacts as one walks closer and closer to them.
[FRD: Agreed]
Class B : All of the panels in the bridge seem to show the exact same information. It looks very strange, and would be better if there was a scattering of different information on the monitors. 
[FRD: Memory is an issue here. We may try running the animations out of synch to add diversity]
Note: We were happy to see the new vertical shafts scattered throughout the interior of the CIS cruiser. 
Is it meant to have a glass cover? It looks like there’s something there but it’s only visible in some angles.
Right now it looks like they’re in every corner, which makes the corners all look the same. It would be better to break them up or give them slightly different look/color to aid navigation. 
[FRD: These are bugs]
Design
Note: Will the various antennae that protrude from the ship be destructible? Currently they’re able to stop a starfighter on its tracks.
[FRD: Yes]
Note: What’s the plan for destructible components on the outside and inside of the ship? Currently the only things that can be destroyed are the turrets. Expectation is that we follow in BFII’s tracks and have sensor arrays, engine components, bridge, etc which are destructible and have some gameplay implication when destroyed. What area the thoughts on these destructibles on both the capital ships and frigates?
[FRD: We agree – this is something we want to do]
Note: In the walkway room, is the turbine at the bottom intended to be spinning? (it definitely looks like it should).
[FRD: Yes]
Is the walkway room bottom intended to be death material?
[FRD: Yes]
Note: Is the reactor cylinder intended to be destructible? If not, what is the destructible portion?
[FRD: Yes – it’s intended to be destructible]
STATUS: APPROVED with changes
==Setup (Multiplayer) - Coruscant phase 1==
Overall
We can begin to assess the flow of combat given the CP setup
Good
N/A
Areas to Improve
Class B: When scrolling through the AI with the AI cam, it’s clear that the majority of the AI are getting stuck on the geometry. This includes AI on foot and using ships/vehicles.
[FRD: These are navmesh bugs and will be fixed]
Art
Class B: When flying in space, the Coruscant land area looks like a giant square floating in space.
[FRD: This is a code issue – we’ll investigate]
Bug: The sky disappears a few seconds after the player spawns.
[FRD: Odd – we’ll investigate]
Class C: The floor patterns in some areas of Coruscant look extremely tiled and repetitive when looking at them from the air.
[FRD: Noted]
Class C: The city landscape feels sparse. We expect more of a skyline and more buildings outside of the playable area.
[FRD: This is something we intend to address]
Design
Class B: The Escape Pods tend to hit the tall buildings on their way down.
Note: We noticed that there’s now added cover to some of the bridge walkways that will protect infantry from capital ship attacks. However the bridges are still very long and straight so they are completely lacking in cover from other infantry. 
[FRD: Noted]
Note: Will the red banners in Padme’s apt. have cloth physics properties?
[FRD: This depends on performance cost. They are unlikely to have cloth physics]
Note: While we very much like the idea of the power couplings with lightning, in terms of the flow of the action, would players ever need to or want to fly through it?[FRD: We believe they would]
STATUS: APPROVED with changes
==Setup (Story) – Tatooine Phase 1==
Overall
Good first pass on Story setup.
Good
The Droid command ship looks rather impressive in its current position.
The flow of the mission seems to work well, as long as one already knows what to do.
Areas to Improve
Design
Class B: When the last objective was completed, the game did not end.
[FRD: Noted (Bug)]
Class C: The CIS command ship doesn’t fire on the player, or does not appear to do so.
[FRD: Noted]
Note: Why wouldn’t the player just fly down to the city below rather than run around the path toward the cave? 
[FRD: In the story, the player won’t have access to this character at this point]
We’d like to avoid death material or invisible walls as a way of preventing this.
How will the player be directed down this path?
[FRD: Signposted gameplay will direct the player.]
Note: Will there be droids to fight in the area between the outpost and the cave?[FRD: Yes.]
Note: After reaching Mos Espa and engaging the CIS we see the text “Oppteam 1.000000” on top. What does this signify?
[FRD: This is just debug text]
Class B: In the objective “Push through Mos Espa”, how will players know which direction to push in?
It’s not clear what the player needs to do in order to pass this objective.
Our guess is we needed to kill “x” number of droids
An objective indicator on the HUD or minimap may alleviate the problem.
[FRD: Noted. All objectives and goals will be made clear to the player]
Class B: How many AI are there? In terms of population density, Mos Espa looks relatively empty.
The AI seem to congregate in the middle area of the map and fight there. The rest of the map is empty.
[FRD: Noted]
In the single player story will there be other AI scattered through the level?
[FRD: Yes.]
Class B: On objective “Join the republic assault on the droid command ship”, we didn’t actually see a republic assault already going on. All the AI are on the ground and not in space (using the AI cam).
[FRD: Noted]
Class C: Expectation is that there will be turrets within the interior of the CIS command ship that fire at the player.
[FRD: Noted]
Class B: Expectation is that there will be other activity occuring within the player’s field of view but not linked to his purpose/objective, i.e. fighting going on, gunships landing and disgorging soldiers, etc.
[FRD: Noted]
Note: Is there a purpose to landing within the CIS command ship? 
Class B: Why does the player need to kill a certain number of droids on the push through Mos Espa? What is preventing you from running straight into the Republic base?
Bug: Using the “Restart” option in the main menu doesn’t seem to completely clear the previous game completion. The text “Completed” stays up and obscures the 3rd line of the objectives list.
“New Objective: Mission Complete” always appears upon player respawn if the game is restarted after one completes the mission.
Bug: After playing for a while, we noticed that the Republic base seems to turn insubstantial. Players can walk through and fall through its geometry.
STATUS: APPROVED with changes
==Setup (Story) – Kashyyyk Phase 0==
Overall
Phase 0 received.
Good
We think the idea for this map is probably one of the best ones yet. It’s already looking very interesting, we can’t wait to see it in later phases.
Shows great imagination and attention to detail.
Love the waterfall, the statues, the wookiee huts, the tree twisted tree trunk, the starship on the horizon, and the rope bridges.
Areas to Improve
Art
Note: What will the statues depict?
Note: Is the theme of the level a crashed space-ship? It should still be clearly set within Kashyyyk, a jungle world with giant trees.
Note: Where will the ground to capital ship level be?
Note: Is there a significance to the sections that are in blue? We assume it’s water.
Will we see objects jutting out of the waterfalls such that they create plumes of water?
Note: We expect that the downed ship would be overgrown with vines, roots, and other organic matter if it had crashed during the Clone Wars.
Note: The concept of a Wookiee temple is great. Since this is sort of new territory, please provide us with some reference or sense of where you will be going with this concept. We’ll need to clear it through licensing. As long as it is in keeps visually with the Wookiee culture established in Ep. III, we should be fine.
Note: It appears as though the playable area is set on the edge of a cliff or precipice. Is our assumption correct?
Note: General Art Note: Kashyyyk = Thailand with giant trees.
Design
Note: Can we get an overhead screenshot that shows the CPs?
Note: Do you envision vehicles having a role in the level?
Note: What will the non-playable area look like? You had mentioned a view of the beachhead from the movie – and if so, kudos!
Class C: Many of the spawn points are not placed on terrain, thus causing the player to instantly fall to their death as soon as they spawn.[FRD: Noted.]
Class C: Will the crashed ship have working turrets that the player can access, i.e. as if they were in VBF.
NOTE: Consider an alternate VBF setup for Kashyyyk – instead of space/ground have two ground layers. One up in the existing level and the other on the beachhead – and players can transition between the two and fight as in the standard VBF scenario. 
STATUS: APPROVED
==Voice Delivery to FRD==
STATUS: DEFERRED UNTIL RECORDING SESSION ON APRIL 9ᵗʰ
==General Feedback==
Good
Mustafar: This level is looking great.
Nice to see the lava already flowing.
Great moody lighting, very gothic look overall.
The map is huge!! Full of interesting interiors and an intriguing terrain layout.
The quality of the art is great.
Very imaginative and thoughtful design. We particularly like the cloning facility, the cave, the mushroom, and the stone bridges over the lava.
Dantooine: The village is looking fantastic. It captures a very French Countryside aesthetic, while still looking Star Warsy.
Dantooine: The ruins of the Jedi enclave look fantastic. The quality of the textures and the weathered look of the walls and rubble are great.
Dantooine: The stained glass is beautiful. We would love to see some of this on Cato Neimoidia, where the long windows are blocked out.
Cato Neimoidia: FRD has done a great job recreating the geometry from the movie.
Cato Neimoidia: There are a lot of interesting interior areas for infantry to take advange of.
Cato Neimoidia: There are a number of defensible positions that look out over, or onto, interesting parts of the map.
Cato Neimoidia: There are always two or three approaches to key positions.
Design
Class C: AI throw ammo packs continuously without any logic
Note: It’s currently possible to land on the top of the CIS cruiser exterior and exit one’s ship. Is this a bug?
[FRD: Yes.]
Class Name in character selection: What’s the intention behind having a second identifier besides the class name (e.g. Magna Guard Melee).
[FRD: This is placeholder formatting. The text will either be removed or be clarified to distinguish between soldier-name and class.]
Note: When will the X-wing s-foils open/close? 
When will other vehicle animations be in?
[FRD: Vehicle animations should be viewable from July onwards.]
Note: When will the AI start using the jetpack?
[FRD: This should be present from July onwards]
Mustafar: There is a small control room embedded in the mountain opposite mushroom. There is a balcony off of this room, but no way to get in or out. In multiplayer, we would expect that players would be able to enter or exit and go out on to the balcony.
[FRD: We don’t plan on allowing players access to interiors in muliplayer]
Mustafar: We would love to see floating platforms over the lava floes for skilled players to jump across.
[FRD: This is unlikely due to the layers of complexity it would add to AI and pathfinding]
Mustafar: It is not totally clear which areas are considered “landing pads”. There are some space vehicles parked near the door to the facility, but the area that they have to land on is very small.[FRD: We’ll take steps to improve this.]
Mustafar: Will the entire map be accessible in multiplayer, or is some of it story only? If so, how much of it will be accessible in MP?
[FRD: Elements of the map are exclusive to the Story mode of the game and won’t be available in multiplayer.]
Dantooine: There isn’t any cover in the open areas between the farm, the town hall, and the village. We would expect things like hay bales (or space-hay), stone walls, rocky outcroppings, patches of crops, groves, or rickety wooden fences.
Dantooine: We expect that there will be paths worn into the ground, and other environmental clues that guide the player from CP to CP.
Dantooine: What effect will crossing water have on infantry and vehicles? We expect some sort of penalty to movement, combat ability, or both.[FRD: We’ll share all these suggestions with the team]
Dantooine: Will there be bridges to town hall?
Death Star II: There are a lot of very long, straight, corridors. What is the plan to break these up with cover and prevent them from becoming impassable chokepoints?
Death Star II: Will players be able to duck into cells in the detention area?
Death Star II: Will there be a garbage chute?
Death Star II: If so, will it lead to a trash compactor w/ closing walls and/or a dianoga?
Death Star II: Will there be guns that the player can fire at capital ships and or starfighters?
Death Star II: Does the firing control room include the firing controls for the Death Star’s main weapon?
Death Star II: If so, will we ever see it fire?
Death Star II: There are a number of large, featureless rooms blocked out without CP’s in them. What might we expect to find in these rooms? Will they include any iconic settings like the tractor beam room or the room where C-3PO and R2-D2 hide out?
Death Star II: It looks like the Emperor’s throne room is on the map, but it is very small and does not match the shape and scale of the room in the film.
Death Star II: The flow of the Death Star seems odd. All of the important rooms are directly adjacent to the hangar. You would expect that something like the Emperor’s throne room, the detention area, and even the conference room would be a bit deeper in the structure.
[FRD: The design work for this environment has already been done but we will of course consider all these suggestions as it is produced]
Cato Neimoidia: Only a very small portion of the bridge city is playable on foot. How will we communicate to the player which part of the bridge is the playable area?
Cato Neimoidia: In VBF play, how will palyers be guided to the playable part of the bridge?
Cato Neimoidia: In the movie there are at least three bridge cities visible. Will additional bridge cities be visible outside the playable area?
Cato Neimoidia: Will combat be visible beyond the playable area as a billboard?
Cato Neimoidia: Will combat appear to be happening on other portions of the playable bridge? If so, how will players know that they can’t participate in that part of the battle?
Cato Neimoidia: Between CP’s 2 and 3 there are a number of openings that look like the windows in the film. Will there be glass or stained glass in these openings? Will it be destructible?
Cato Neimoidia: CP 1 and CP 4 are very close together. CP 1 seems like the easier to defend of the two. What is the intended gameplay between these two locations?
Cato Neimoidia: The landing pad seems like the only viable place for starfighters to land. Are there other spots on the map intended for landing?
Cato Neimoidia: Currently you can land on upper levels of the citadel. These are interesting areas. Is there any gameplay intended on these upper levels?
Cato Neimoidia: Where would a planetary/ion cannon appear on this level? Where would its controls be?
Cato Neimoidia: Will there be an actual “planet” or will it be hidden in mist as it is in the film?
Cato Neimoidia: If it is shrouded in mist, how will we deter players from trying to go down to the non-existent surface?
Cato Neimoidia: Where might we see anti-infantry or anti-air turrets?
Cato Neimoidia: What sort of land vehicles are planned for the map?
Cato Neimoidia: Will orbital bombardments be possible with the “arch” over the city?
[FRD: The design work for this environment has already been done but we will of course consider all these suggestions as it is produced]
Bugs:
Hoth: When scrolling through the AI with the AI cam, it’s clear that the majority of the AI are getting stuck on the geometry. This includes AI on foot and using ships/vehicles. 
Coruscant: The minimap on Coruscant looks like the tatooine map.
Instant Action: When the spawn timer of the hero is set to zero, the player never gets the option to spawn in as a hero.
Tatooine: Occasionally when a player enters a droid starfighter that the AI landed on the landing by, it’s not possible to get it to take off.
Engineer: When anyone including heroes picks up ammo pack they’ll give themselves grenades. That means they can get access to a secondary weapon that he’s not supposed to have.
AI Thoughts: We can no longer see AI thoughts when we turn them off at the debug menu.
Instant Action: While flying in free cam we lost all our CPs and our character was killed. We were then at the spawn screen with no spawn points listed. There’s no way to exit out of this screen. 
Dantooine: There is no lighting around the town hall.
[FRD: Noted]
==Art Comments==
Mustafar: The piece of the Star Destroyer that acts as a spawn is fine in story mode and in GCW era instant action. However, we need to ping Licensing to see how this works for instant action.
[FRD: Noted]
Mustafar: Between the conference room and the command center there is an exterior walkway that looks like one of the locations where Anakin and Obi-Wan fought in Episode III. There is a large hill of terrain right beside this area.
Mustafar: For the sake of giving players the opportunity to fight Classic Star Wars battles, this hill should be lowered or removed so that the players can see a vista of lava and volcanoes from the platform.
[FRD: There could be issues with having wide and deep panoramas in the game – they may have adverse affects on performance and frame-rate.]
Dantooine: Some of the buildings in the village seem too small. The doorways barely come up to a clone’s head. However, others look as though they are just the right size, big enough for a wookiee to comfortably pass through.[FRD: Noted.]
Dantooine: The interior of the barn seems too small. It is a tiny room with a very small door.
Dantooine: Question: What time of year is it on Dantooine when the game takes place? It looks summery, but it may be interesting to use a different color palette and set it around harvest time (autumn) or early winter.
Bug: The lighting on Hoth seems broken on this build.
Bug: Part of the new frigates on Tatooine is visible from the ground layer[FRD: This is an art bug.]
Note: The new jetpack effect looks like it’s only partially done. Is this the case?
Tarrful: There are strange protrusions of fur from the seams on his legs. We expect that this fur will be blended somehow, or driven by physics.
Tarrful: We would expect physics on the Wookiee’s dreadlocks.
Gungan: The expectation at LEC is that the Gungan’s ears will be affected by physics.
Darth Maul: His hips and rear seem too large. Is this the result of the cloth bunching up due to physics?
Can we see what he looks like without the cloth for comparison?
Note: The lighting on the PS3 is brighter than all other platforms. In fact it doesn’t suffer from the unlit characters/vehicles that are seen in the other versions.
==Milestone 12 – Monday 23ʳᵈ April 2007==
Milestone 12 – Monday 23rd April 2007 – First Playable PC
Running on X360 and PS3
A playable section of the game incorporating the Vertical Battlefront. Gameplay will be:
Tatooine Conquest (Instant Action) over the vertical battlefront
Republic vs CIS
Single player with bots
Functionally final HUD / GUI
Placeholder art for HUD / GUI
Placeholder particle effects
Placeholder ambient effects
Ground to Space firing, and vice versa
Escape Pods functional
No atmospheric effects (used to make battle appear larger than it is)
Other large ships in space
Multiple capacity vehicles (troop transports) , including respawning
Placeholder sounds
No hero ships
Candidate final controls / handling (inevitably tweaked later)
Hero Unlocking
Escape Pods 
Jedi gameplay including Melee moves
[FRD: Improvements to melee AI will be present]
Functional AI for Conquest Mode:
Strategical AI Behaviour
[LEC] How will this be evident?
[FRD: These will be improvements on existing AI behaviour - Efforts are being made to improve navigational AI which should enhance the infantry on Tatooine ground layer.]
Class Specific AI behaviour, incl Special Abilities
[LEC] Please specifiy which special abilities will be evident.
[FRD: Melee and support behaviour (health / ammo deployment).]
AI using land vehicles
[LEC] Expectation is that they will *not* become stuck on objects/terrain. 
[FRD: The quality of AI navigation will not yet be release-standard. Improvements in frame rate will have a positive effect on AI also.]
AI spawning in space and staying in space 
[LEC] Expectation is that formations will reform upon respawn
[FRD: Our current focus is to improve existing functionality rather than introduce new functionality.]
Capital ship turrets (AI only)
[LEC] Expectation is that they will actively engage the player and that they will also be on the frigates.
[FRD: Frigates will have ship turrets also.]
Not all Secondary Weapons (TBD)
Target numbers of AI = 50 over the VBF
Satisfactory framerate = ~20fps stable
Option to use Controls on Single Analog Stick via debug menu only
Not networked
[LEC] But networked on the PC, yes?
[FRD: Our own stretch goal will be to have this networked on PC.]
Not split-screen
No story content
Art
Tatooine - Splitscreen VBF version for review
Dathomir - Phase 0
Kashyyyk - Phase 0
Coruscant - Phase 2
Mustafar - Phase 1
[LEC] Oh, the agony of waiting...we cannot wait to see this level! 
Setup (Multiplayer) 
Bespin Phase 1
Naboo? Phase 0
Geonosis? Phase 0
[LEC] Deferred due to open question re downloadable content 
Setup (Story)
Coruscant Phase 1
LucasArts and FRD to agree details and content and mechanism of the online beta test.
Overall Rating: NOT APPROVED
|-|Tatooine Fixes Feedback=
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</tabber>
Category:I&T - Milestones