Milestone 8

* Milestone Schedule
* Roadmap
* Release Notes
* Milestone Feedback

## Milestone 8 - Monday, 18ᵗʰDecember 2006 - Prototype Preview

Documentation:

* Final Technical Design Document, incorporating feedback from Greenlight Meeting

Running on PC, X360 and PS3:

* Jedi Force Power (Lighting, Push, Pull and Choke) affecting characters and props
Grenades in-game for use by AI – Functional
* Player able to use the ‘prone’ position
* Hero Unlocking (Heroes unlock at certain point criteria during gameplay)
* FX – sand on Tatooine (blowing around)
* FX – vehicle effects (dust / smoke / dirt / boosters)
* HUD (1st pass) (functional with non-final graphics)
* Basic Frontend with desired structure

Final Draft Voice script (main Story and as much in-game as feasible) delivered.

Preview content required for Prototype is:

* Conquest across VBF (Tatooine with CIS Cruiser)
* Republic (in control of Tatooine) vs CIS (in control of CIS Cruiser)
* Single player with bots
* Running on PC
* Quality will not reach Prototype standards in many areas

Art:

* Endor - Phase 0
* Droid Control Ship - Phase 0
* Desolation Station / Death Star Construction - Phase 0
* Death Star 2 (End of Endor) - Phase 0

## Milestone 8 - Monday, 18ᵗʰ December 2006

Summary:

* First Playable Preview on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3

Content Detail:

* First Playable Preview
* Iteration of Jedi abilities
* 1st Map with Assault Mode working
* Several new effects

Game Design:

* First Playable Preview
	+ All content required for First Playable is in:
		- Conquest across VBF (Tatooine with CIS Cruiser)
		- Republic (in control of Tatooine) vs CIS (in control of CIS Cruiser)
		- Singleplayer with bots
		- Running on PC
		- Quality will not reach First Playable standards in many areas

Gameplay Features (AI):

* AI using Grenades
	+ Grenades in-game for use by AI - functional
	+ AI Soldier class will throw thermal detonators at enemies

Gameplay Features (Gamemodes):

* Conquest mode over Tatooine
	+ Working in a similar manner to conquest on the CIS Cruiser, except AI will also find the means to reach their target.

Gameplay Features (Miscellaneous):

* Jedi Force Power (Lighting, Push, Pull and Choke)
	+ Abilities affecting characters and props
	+ Props include vehicles weapons and other small objects
* HUD (1st pass)
	+ Functional with non-final graphics.
	+ HUD will show gun icons and ammo count.
* Basic frontend with desired structure
	+ Prototype showing basic design for Campaign and Instant Action. Functional with non-final graphics. No profile or network menus.
* All classes integrated into the game
	+ Moved from MS7 due to character classes for the game currently being under review.
	+ Each character class in the Republic faction has correct model and primary weapons load-out.
* Player able to use the 'prone' position
	+ Possibly only on the Battle Droid, but a stretch goal for all other characters.
* Hero Unlocking
	+ Heroes unlocked at certain point criteria during gameplay.

Art (Characters):

* Cutscene Models - Lando Calrissian
* Heroes - Princess Leia
* Non-Human Creatures - Krayt Dragon
* Soldier Models - Rebel Marksman
* Soldier Models - Imperial Snow Trooper

Art (Weapons):

* CIS -> Soldier Class -> E-5 Blaster Rifle
* Thermal Detonator

Art (Vehicles):

* A-Wing
* Millenium Falcon
	+ with cockpit
* Sith Inflitrator

Narration:

* 3rd draft of Voice Script
	+ Main Story and as much in-game as feasible following discussions of points in 2nd draft

Technical (Design):

* Final Technical Design Document
	+ Incorporating feedback from Greenlight Meeting

Technical (Rendering):

* FX – sand on Tatooine (blowing around)
* FX – vehicle effects (dust/smoke/dirt/boosters)
	+ Demonstrated on Clone Hover Tank and Droid Starfighter.

Production:

* Deliver Windows Build
* Deliver Xbox 360 Build
* Deliver PS3 Build

## BF3: December MS8 - Release Notes

**PC / XBOX 360 / PS3**

* Run game without parameter
* Frontend with basic structure, Campaign and Instant Action in detail
* Main menu has development Freeplay option as before
* New skeleton **NEW**

### Singleplayer

**Tatooine (tatooine.res) VBF**

**Conquest mode** ALL PLATFORMS **NEW**

* Up to 25 AI per side
* Sand (on-foot, on Dune Sea between Sarlaac Pit and Mos Espa)
* Vehicle effects (dust / smoke / boosters) on hover tank and droid starfighter
	+ Boosters on X-wing (as droid starfighter doesn’t have boosters)
* Choose faction, can spawn as:
	+ Republic Faction
		- SOLDIER class
			* Clone Trooper (with DC-15 blaster rifle, grenade launcher, grenades)
		- HEAVY WEAPONS class
			* Clone Heavy Trooper (with republic PLX rocket launcher, republic shotgun, V-1 thermal detonators)
		- SNIPER class
			* Clone sharpshooter (with DC-15x sniper rifle & disruptor pistol (prev diffusion), thermal detonators)
		- SUPPORT class
			* Clone Engineer (with arc cutter (prev. fusion cutter) & DC-17 pistol, detpak)
		- MELEE class **NEW**
			* Lancer Trooper (with power lance instead of light sabre, grenade)
		- HERO class **NEW**
			* Unlocked with unlocking mechanism
			* Mace Windu (force push and force pull)
	+ CIS Faction
		- SOLDIER class
			* Battledroid (with Battledroid anim set) (with e5 blaster rifle, grenade launcher
		- HEAVY WEAPONS class
			* Battle Droid (Rocket launcher, blaster, and V1 Thermal detonators)
		- SNIPER class
			* Assassin Droid (with E-5s Sniper Rifle, disrupter pistol, thermal detonators)
		- SUPPORT class
			* Engineer droid / pilot (with arc cutter, separatist blaster pistol, detpak)
		- MELEE class **NEW**
			* Imperial engineer (with power lance instead of light sabre, grenade)
		- HERO class **NEW**
			* Zam Wessel (force choke and lightning)
* Hero Unlocking **NEW**
	+ Options on frontend (game options)
* Command posts
	+ 5 on ground
		- Republic base - REPUBLIC
		- Mos Espa (Landing bay) - REPUBLIC
		- Homestead
		- Krayt Dragon Cave
	+ 4 in space (non-moving capital ship)
		- Bridge - CIS
		- Reactor - CIS
		- Walkways room
		- Gun room
			* NB. Command post effect is placeholder
			* Republic in control of Tatooine, CIS in control of CIS Cruiser
* AI Turrets (in Mos Espa)
	+ Fire at any passing characters
	+ Frame-rate independent **NEW**
	+ Better stability **NEW**
* Vehicles (all damageable with explosion AND debris):
	+ ALL Firing laser and missiles
	+ Droid Starfighter with re-entry effects on
	+ Dust / smoke / dirt / boosters demonstrated on hover tank, droid starfighter, and X-wing
	+ Respawn when destroyed
	+ Following vehicles
		- Xwing - (cockpit)
		- CIS AAT - (camera)
		- Republic Starfighter - (cockpit)
		- Droid Starfighter - (camera)
		- LAAT gunship - (cockpit)
		- Speeder bike - (camera)
		- Sith Speeder - (camera)
		- Barc Speeder - (camera)
		- Tri-fighter - (camera)
		- V-Wing - (cockpit)
		- Tie Interceptor in hangar - (cockpit)
* Special flight moves
	+ Spin roll (left / right)
	+ Split S
	+ Immelman
	+ Cork-screw evade (left / right)
* Super Star Destroyer in space
* CIS Landing ship across canyon from base
* AI abilities **NEW**
	+ Using grenades
* Players able to use prone position **NEW**

*CIS\_Cruiser*

**Conquest mode** ALL PLATFORMS

* Conquest mode on cis cruiser only
* Up to 25 AI per side NEW
* Command posts:
* Bridge (CIS starts here)
* Reactor
* Jet-pack room
* Gun room
* Hangar (Republic starts here)
* No ships in hangar

*Coruscant* (corsuscant.res) ALL PLATFORMS
No gamemode

* Block-out (with shading). With ground and flying vehicles.
* AI Space dog fighting test
* 2 teams of 15 vs 15 fighters, fighting above cloud layer too **NEW**
* Droid command ship **NEW**
* Active lockon icon, different to Highlighting icon **NEW**
* Auto-aim on ships **NEW**
* Some AI spawning in space, only on space duties **NEW**

*Test Room* (ai\_test.res) ALL PLATFORMS

* 50 AI

*Jedi vs infantry test in Test Room* (jedi\_infantry\_test.res) ALL PLATFORMS

* Player can spawn as Darth Vader
* Several AI with guns shooting at player
* Can melee attack the AI
* Can block AI shots (using standard block animation)
* Objects to force pull / push / lightning (eg. Vehicle, dropped guns, crates etc)

*Bespin* (bespin.res) PC ONLY

* Work in progress

*Star Destroyer* (star\_destroyer.res) PC ONLY

* Work in progress

*Endor* (endor.res) PC ONLY

* Block out (Phase 0)

*Death Star 2 Interior* (death\_star2.res) PC ONLY

* Block out (Phase 0)

*Desolation Station* (desolation.res) PC ONLY

* Block out of interior

### Network (2-8 players)

*tatooine\_network.res*

* As single player in Conquest (not freeplay) (no AI in setup)

### Splitscreen (2-player)

(over VBF)

* Tatooine as single player

Cis\_cruiser\_conquest

* Same as single player

Test room (jedi\_test.res) ALL PLATFORMS

* Respawn menu
	+ Darth Vader (with lightsaber, force lightning and force choke)
	+ Imperial Officer (with lightsaber, force push and force pull)
* Jedi combat with improvements
	+ NOT working over network

### Stage (PC only)

**Heroes & Villains**

* Darth Vader
* Mace Windu
* Jango Fett
* Princess Leia **NEW**
* Lando Calrissian **NEW**
* Zam Wessel
* Droideka
* IG88

**Imperials**

* Imp. Officer
* Imp. Stormtrooper
* Imp. Scout trooper
* Imp. Snow Trooper **NEW**
* Imp. Pilot (Engineer)

**Rebels**

* Rebel Marksman **NEW**

**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 **NEW**

**Space Vehicles**

* Millenium Falcon **NEW**
* Imp. TIE Interceptor
* Rep. X-Wing
* Sith Infiltrator **NEW**
* Rep. Gunship (LAAT)
* CIS Droid Starfighter
* Rebel B-Wing
* Rebel V-Wing
* Rebel A-Wing **NEW**
* Rep. Starfighter
* CIS Tri-fighter
* Imperial shuttle
* CIS Landing ship
* CIS Escape Pod

**Ground Vehicles**

* CIS Hailfire droid
* CIS AAT
* Sith Speeder
* Imp. Speeder Bike
* Rep. BARC Speeder

**Weapons**

* Rep. Vibrolance (Power Lance)
* Rep. DC-15 Blaster
* Rep. DC-15a Blaster Rifle
* Imp. E11 Blaster Rifle
* CIS E-5 Blaster Rifle **NEW**
* Rep. DC15s Pistol
* Rep. Disruptor Pistol
* Rep. Shotgun **NEW**
* Rep. Grenade Launcher
* Rep. Rocket Launcher
* Rep. Sorosuub Fusion Cutter
* Rep. Fusion Cutter
* Rep. Thermal Detonator **NEW**
* Rep. Det Pack
* Rep. Mine (HX2)

**Props**

* Rebel Turret (Desert)

**Project Title:** ***Battlefront III***

**Developer: Free Radical Design**

**Milestone: Milestone 8**

**Production:** **Jamil Dawsari**

**Gabe Gils Carbo**

**James Morris**

**Orion Kellogg**

**Milestone Review**

December 19ᵗʰ, 2006

**Milestone 8 - Monday** **18ᵗʰ** **December 2006 - First Playable Preview**

Performance:

[LucasArts: Unacceptable]
* Unable to review PS3 build
* Unstable across all platforms.
* Low fps on Tatooine with 50 AI

All content required for First Playable is in

[LucasArts: Approved as a preview. Class Bs listed as “Need to be addressed” but which were not part of the milestone delivery are expected for First Playable milestone]
* Conquest across VBF (Tatooine with CIS Cruiser) Republic (in control of Tatooine) vs CIS (in control of CIS Cruiser)
* Single player with bots
* Running on PC
* Quality will not reach First Playable standards in many areas

Documentation:

* Final Technical Design Document, incorporating feedback from Greenlight Meeting[LucasArts: Under Review]
* Final Draft Voice script (main Story and as much in-game as feasible) delivered[LucasArts: Approved with changes]

Running on PC, X360 and PS3

* All classes integrated into game (moved from MS7)[LucasArts: Failed, but will not affect milestone payment]
* Jedi Force Power (Lighting, Push, Pull and Choke) affecting characters and props[LucasArts: Approved with changes]
* Grenades in-game for use by AI – Functional[LucasArts: Acceptable first pass on AI using grenades in-game]
* Player able to use the ‘prone’ position[LucasArts: Approved with changes]
* Hero Unlocking (Heroes unlock at certain point criteria during gameplay)[LucasArts: Approved as first pass with fixes]
* FX – sand on Tatooine (blowing around)[LucasArts: Approved with fixes]
* FX – vehicle effects (dust / smoke / dirt / boosters)[LucasArts: Approved with fixes]
* HUD (1ˢᵗ pass) (functional with non-final graphics)[LucasArts: Approved with changes]
* Basic Front end with desired structure[LucasArts: Approved with changes]

Art

* Endor - Phase 0[LucasArts: Approved]
* Droid Control Ship - Phase 0[LucasArts: Approved with hangar walls addressed]
* Desolation Station / Death Star Construction - Phase 0[LucasArts: Approved]
* Death Star 2 (End of Endor) - Phase 0[LucasArts: Approved]

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

* Milestone working on PS3, X360 and PC

Areas to Improve

* **Class A:**Unplayable PS3 build. It is unclear if this is due to build environment or local conditions on the LEC PS3 devkit. As such, this will not impact the milestone approval. However, this issue is to be given immediate priority and FRD and LEC will work to resolve it ASAP.[FRD: Priority issue. This will be resolved ASAP]
* **Class B:** Issues with stability affecting build, with the PC being the most stable (but still crashing fairly regularly), the X360 somewhat worse than the PC, and the PS3 is unreviewable due to stability.[FRD: The only crashes witnessed here were from front-end restarts. In-game is pretty stable. Any information you can provide on reproducible crashes would be welcomed]
* **Class B:** Single player Conquest VBF on Tatooine with 50 AI + player currently drags the game down between 4-5 fps. Target for first playable is 20fps with 50 AI + player.[FRD: Noted]
* **NOTE**: AI Test Room – what is the target framework for this? How many AI are showcased in the Test room, e.g. 25?[FRD: The testroom shows 50 AI]

**STATUS:**

[LucasArts: Unsatisfactory performance due to lack of stability across all platforms. Lack of PS3 stability of extreme concern. Will not affect milestone payment.]
## All Content required for First Playable is in

Overall

* Difficult to assess progress based on the preview of First Playable

Good

* Can spawn on the ground, get on a starfighter, fly through the atmosphere and into space, land in a capital ship, disembark and then repeat the process in reverse.
* Working conquest mode with AI traversing the VBF to take CPs.

While the preview build was not to deliver on the items below, in order to line up expectations for March’s First Playable please note the items below (if these are already planned, can you note in which upcoming milestone they will be occur?):

* **Class B:** Although the AI wasn’t functioning in an optimal manner, the sense is that a total of 50 units is not enough to populate the VBF as it currently stands and meet the expectation of a fight going on everywhere. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: We must focus of 50 AI for FP, as planned for with the Optimisation work being carried out. After that we can investigate]
* **Class B:** Space density - Small no-interior capital ships such as frigates and corvettes are missing. The expectation is that these will be next to the capital ship and they will have lasers which fire at enemy starfighters. They will be destructible. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Some static smaller capital ships (one type only) will be present. These will not be destructible. Guns will target the player and be destructible]
* **Class B:** Space density – although we don’t expect to see final billboards in space, it would be good to have placeholder – is that possible? – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: We don’t see this as a possibility for FP]
* **Class B:** Space-to-ground weapon functionality. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**

Will space-to-ground weapons be destructible?

[FRD: The current thinking is 'yes', but we'll be looking to evaluate this through playtesting. They won't be destructible for First Playable though]
* + What is the effect that the space-to-ground weapons will cause when fired? [FRD: Similar in nature to the air strikes in BF2, only with a more 'Star Wars' tone]
	+ How often will they be able to fire?[FRD: Will be evaluated through implementation, but once every minute will be our starting point]
	+ How powerful do you envision the weapons being in terms of destructive power? [FRD: A direct hit will be an instant kill to any infantry and will heavily damage vehicles. Again the BF2 air strike is a good reference]
	+ The CIS cruiser currently has no apparent guns on the bottom of its hull. How will it be able to bombard the ground?[FRD: We haven't built guns onto the ship as we are looking to evaluate this feature. If it works and proves beneficial to gameplay, the appropriate guns will be added to the model]
* **Class B:** Transport ships need to be present in the capital ship hangar. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: We are intending to use the Imperial Shuttle to demonstrate this functionality, as this is already built]
* **Class B:** Escape Pod should be present and functional. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**
	+ What is the plan for communicating to players spawning in the capital ship about the location of the Escape Pod bay, and how to use them?
	+ Current design is for Escape Pods to land on pre-designated areas, and fade out after some amount of time goes by. Is that still the plan? One concern is with people having enough methods to go from space to ground, if the Escape Pods turned into spawn points upon landing, that would help mitigate that issue. As a balance, the pods can be destroyed at which point they respawn in the capital ship. Thoughts?.

[FRD: Pods will be shown on the minimap to represent status and functionality]

* **Class B:** We expect to have more destructible objects inside and outside the capital ship, e.g. functional laser turrets, the protruding poles currently on the CIS ship, etc.[FRD: Noted]

* + Was the shield generator cut from the CIS cruiser? If not, where will it be and how will it work? How will it’s function be communicated to the player.
* **Class B:** There should be a CIS CP and/or spawn point in the Capital Ship’s hangar, so that players can get into space quickly. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Playtesting has shown that CPs placed in a hangar become a turkey-shoot for strafing craft and result in poor gameplay balance. CPs close to the hangar are favoured]
* **Class B:** The CIS cruiser should have a number of AI and player controlled anti-starcraft turrets. The location where players can jump into these should be clearly indicated to players. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: There will be AI controlled turrets for FP]
* **Class B:** Ground-to-space cannons are present and functional. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: These will be present in FP. Details (including answers to the following) will be provided to LEC for review before MS9]

* + Will ground -to-space cannons be destructible?
	+ Will these be player-controlled or AI controlled (linked to a CP, and if defender owns CP the cannon will auto-fire, if CP falls, the cannon stops firing)
	+ What is the effect that the ground-to-space weapons will cause on its target when it hits?
	+ How often will they be able to fire?
	+ How powerful do you envision the weapons being in terms of destructive power?
	+ Will there be one per CP? Or a single one?
* **Class B:** Please provide the vehicle spawn plan for the map. What vehicles will spawn & where, how often do they respawn (next milestone?)[FRD: These will be supplied and feature on the Wiki]
* **Class B:** Unoccupied vehicles moved from their spawn point need to time-out from the world. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Noted]
* **Class B:** All hover vehicles currently hover too high off the ground. We would expect them to be at roughly knee height. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Noted]
* **Class B:** Landing pad functionality, in-game visuals, and any UI necessary should be implemented. – would like this to be addressed for First Playable[FRD: We’ll regard this as a stretch goal]
* **Class B:** Currently most AI are defaulting to defending the CPS rather than traversing the VBF to capture enemy CPs. For First Playable we expect to see a large variety of AI attack/defend behavior. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: The aggression level of the AI will be tweaked for FP]
* **Class B:** No AI spawn in space at map start, nor do any AI remain in space to populate it. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Noted]
* **Class B:** AI do not behave in a sophisticated enough manner for a first playable. They run straight to CPs generally ignoring the player, they guard by standing still and facing the same direction constantly, they do not clear rooms of enemies before moving into them, they do not move in squads, etc. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: AI won’t ignore the player but there will be no squad behaviour for FP. General attack and defend behavior will be improved]
* **Class B:** AI need to utilize vehicles more often, we never saw them use a land vehicle. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: As the distance between ground CPs has been condensed we doubt this is necessary in Tatooine for the FP]
* **Class B:** AI are seen to consistently fly their ships onto the lip of the hangar and are then unable to traverse the VBF in Conquest – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: This is a bug and is being investigated]
* **Class B:** Some weapons are not present: Homing ball droid, spider mine, Cloaking device, health ammo/dispenser, concussion grenades.
	+ Will these be part of the February Milestone delivery?

[FRD: Grenades and DetPacks will be the only secondary weapons featured for the Feb milestone]

* **Class B:** Some weapon functionality is missing: Sniper zoom, Lance in retracted state, shotgun effect. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**
	+ Will these be part of the February Milestone delivery?

[FRD: Sniper zoom and shotgun effect will feature in the Feb milestone]

* **Class B:** Need a UI for the spawn selection screen that conforms to latest design. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Landscape and Capital ship 2D maps will be shown displaying CPs]

* + We had discussed a spawn UI that was representative of the VBF, e.g. capital ship shown as well as ground with selectable spawn areas highlighted. Where has the design netted out in regards to this?

Class B: Tatooine buildings should not float above the terrain (it’s been three milestones with this occurring – could we have an elaboration as to why that’s the case?) – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**

[FRD: This will be addressed for FP.]
* **Class B:** Non-playable areas of the map should be populated, instead of the barren wasteland that is currently present, e.g. when transitioning from space to land, the land outside o the playable area needs to appear interesting. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Providing areas of interest and then preventing the player access to them is unsatisfying and dilutes the enjoyment of the game. This will not feature in FP]
* **Class B:** The capture of CPs is currently too fast. It needs to be tuned so that it takes longer to capture a CP (based on playtesting). – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Noted]
* **Class B:** Players should be able to capture CPs while inside vehicles. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: In Battlefront 1 & 2 this was not the case, so we have followed on with that mentality]

* + Some CPs will not be accessible to vehicles due to location to keep things balanced (such as CIS bridge CP).
* **Class B:** The HUD indicator that shows the progress of a CP capture is too subtle. Combined with speed of capturing a CP players often miss what’s going on. The HUD element for capturing a CP needs to be more apparent, and the audio should also be more prominent.[FRD: Noted]
* **Class B:** Battlefront II used visual indicators on the in-game graphics of the CP to convey the progress of the capture to the player. This sort of messaging needs to also be part of Battlefront III. [FRD: Noted]

Class B: Character name tags should be implemented, i.e. red for enemy and blue for friendly. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**

[FRD: Noted]
* **Class B:** Radio chatter (w/ placeholder sounds) should be implemented – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Noted. A First Playable voice script proposal will be provided for LEC review by early February at the latest. However, these will all have to be placeholder due to the undetermined date for the LEC recordings, and the delivery of audio data back to us is the FP Milestone, but this is fine]
* **Class B:** Space Combat - target padlock view should be implemented – would be good for First Playable[FRD: We’ll investigate to check suitability]
* **Class B:** Cloth physics are still removed from the game. What is the schedule for getting these back in? – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Ageia physics is still proving to be too costly at present. We will have further news in the coming weeks]

* + When will clothing exhibit cloth physics?[FRD: We will have further news in the coming weeks]
* **Class B:** No in-game audio, e.g. radio chatter, gameplay related audio (CP changes, etc) – **needs to be addressed for First Playable** (can be placeholder recordings of script)[FRD: Noted]

**STATUS:**

[LucasArts: Approved as a preview. Class Bs listed as “Need to be addressed” but which were not part of the milestone delivery are expected for First Playable milestone. **NOTE**: the ‘need to be addressed” were **not** used to assess this milestone.]
## Final Technical Design Document, incorporating feedback from Greenlight Meeting

Overall

* Delivery accepted with changes from GL incorporated.

Areas to Improve

* **Class B:** Risk: High Number of units – we need to identify in the TDD and Milestone Schedule document when we can expect to receive a standalone server which allow us to host games for 50+ players. MS12 notes the delivery of both console hosted LAN and on-line for X360 – is that referencing a standalone server delivery for MS12?[FRD: No, there is no standalone server delivery for MS12. Isn’t the Standalone Server a PC, and therefore for PC gamers only?]
* **Class B:** Risk: Performance – Please provide schedule of profiling and what the target date is to achieve 30 fps. This is a top concern for LEC and we would like to see a plan and target date for achieving 30 fps early in the schedule.[FRD: We are aiming for 20fps by March with further improvements to follow]
* **Class B:** Risk: Terrain Rendering – the 1.3 TDD notes a delivery date of MS10 for the terrain editor and rendering code. How will this manifest itself in the run-time to allow for corroboration?[FRD: We trust the improvements will be evident on screen. We will not be delivering tools, but welcome demonstrations on site as previously discussed]
* **Class B:** Risk: Console Hosted Network/Online – The target for MS12 is 8 players on a console-hosted server. The TDD needs to provide data as to the target # of players and AI that will be available at release as well as mitigations for risks to that number.[FRD: This is a question of bandwidth and we will investigate this over the coming months]

**STATUS:**
[LucasArts: Approved with changes]
## All classes integrated into game (moved from MS7)

Overall

* Republic classes are in the game with proper primary weapon load-outs, but models are not wearing proper headgear

Good

* Heroes are playable and unlockable
* Melee class implemented in-game with functional weapon

Areas to Improve

* **Class A:**Clone Engineer and Clone Sharp Shooter are wearing incorrect helmets. They are wearing Episode II helmets with Episode III armor; these types should not be mixed – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Noted]
* **Class B:** Only one tier of hero is currently entering the game which technically differs from the design document – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Noted]
* **Class B:** Melee classes expected to have unique staff swing animations and will not repurpose lightsaber animations – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: We are prioritizing getting the combat to feel right above all else, as previously discussed. This is the focus, rather than a series of animations sets]
* **Class C:** Lance trooper weapon is not telescoped/retracted – bug? content issue? – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: This will not feature in FP]
* **Class C:** Character weapons should be visible at all times, i.e. thermal detonators on belt loops, detpacks in logical locations, etc. Perhaps we should consider adding a backpack to units to have as a logical placement for these items. LEC will address this with Licensing and get their input.[FRD: This is not something that our Engine/Rigs etc are geared up to do. We need to find a happy medium here]
* **Class C:** Character weapon switch animations should reference where the weapon is located on the character’s body.[FRD: As above]
* **Class C:** Battle droid idle animations shake the torso only and do not involve legs.[FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** Arc cutter should function as a weapon. It currently has no effect on enemy characters. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** Jetpack animations are too stiff. Players don’t look “natural” as they fly about.[FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** As jetpack characters land, jetpack should emit microbursts to allow landing to look more realistic (it won’t affect the flight characteristics, but act as an ambient effect to make the landing appear more natural).[FRD: We will investigate this]

**STATUS:**

[LucasArts: Failed, but will not affect milestone payment]
## Jedi Force Power (Lightning, Push, Pull and Choke)

Overall

* Good pass at force powers affecting characters and props

Good

* Nice feeling of power using push/pull on the prop boxes in the Jedi Arena

Areas to Improve

* **Class B:** Camera swings wildly out of control when player is the victim of a pull/push[FRD: This will be improved]
* **Class B:** When will motion captured Jedi animations be implemented?[FRD: Presently the animations seen are a mix of mocap and keyframed animations.]
* **Class C:** Force Pull and Push should have visual effects (e.g. jets of air) and animations.[FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** When targeting an enemy, force pull serves to bring that enemy into melee range. However the current functionality has the target fly past the player and land several feet away and too far to be attacked via melee.[FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** Force pulling vehicles often leads to the player dying by the vehicle smashing into them.[FRD: This is a bug, and will be fixed]
* **Class C:** No props in Tatooine (outside of vehicles) can be affected by push/pull – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** Inconsistencies noted with “cone of effect” of a force power. Sometimes hard to know what exact item (or group of items) the power is going to affect. Also sometimes hard to know what solid objects will block/interfere with force powers. This could be mitigated by visual effects for these abilities.[FRD: Agreed]
* **Class C:** Explore charged force abilities (i.e. holding the Force Pull button for a long time allows for a more powerful effect with longer animation and power drain). This acts as a mini-game and could be useful when Jedi duel[FRD: We’ll investigate]
* **Class C:** Jedi should be able to use their powers to block other Jedi push/pull attempts[FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** Jedi characters should have a “passive block” (something like 70% passive block with 100% active block that drains force). This would only be useful against blaster fire and not explosions or force powers. Playtest would be necessary to see if a steady drain of force pool might add more gameplay decision-making, i.e. do I take my Jedi into that firefight with passive blocking slowly draining my force power and have nothing left to use on the enemy hero, etc.[FRD: We’ll investigate]
* **Class C:** Lightsabers etc; should leave decals as they interact with the world around them[FRD: Agreed]

**STATUS:**

[LucasArts: Approved with changes]
## Grenades in-game for use by AI – Functional

Overall

* Acceptable first pass at AI using grenades in-game

Good

* AI will throw grenades at player
* Tracers added to self-thrown grenades allow players to track accuracy of their throw

Areas to Improve

* **Class B:** AI do not seem to logically gauge when to use grenades over normal weapons and will throw grenades at player in wide open spaces when basic weapon fire would likely be more effective. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable**[FRD: Quite a large task for AI to determine if it is in open or closed spaces. We will investigate, but is likely this will not feature in FP]
* **Class B:** Issues with AI troops throwing grenades to levels above or below them, e.g. AI will have difficulty arcing a grenade onto a ledge, for example.[FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** Having tracers on grenades thrown by opponents makes it too easy to avoid. Consider making grenade trails only visible for grenades thrown by friendly units[FRD: We’ll be toning down the tracer effects]
* **Class C:** All thermal detonators should blink red after being thrown until the moment they detonate.[FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** Detonation time of grenades will likely need to be shortened pending playtesting.[FRD: Noted]

**STATUS:**

[LucasArts: Acceptable first pass on AI using grenades in-game]
## Player able to use the ‘prone’ position

Overall

* Good first pass prone position usable on all characters

Good

* All characters can go into prone, meeting the stretch goal

Areas to Improve

* **Class B:** When prone, pull the camera to a closer, over-the-shoulder view to allow for accurate aiming. Prone should make aiming easier for the player. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable** [FRD: This is a good idea. Will not feature in FP however.]
* **Class B:** Holding the crouch button should smoothly drop the player into the prone position. Currently, the character will occasionally resist going into prone easily. [FRD: This is a bug and will be fixed]
* **Class B:** Going prone on certain height-mapped platforms etc; causes player to pop-up or causes the camera to swing through the ground, beneath the player. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable** [FRD: This will be addressed with other prone-camera issues]
* **Class B:** – Battledroid prone animation has torso at 90 degrees to ground – **needs to be addressed for First Playable** [FRD: We’ll investigate]
* **Class C:** Throwing animations doesn’t look right for characters when prone. Characters throwing grenades should push off the ground to a kneel or a unique animation (see CoD for example) to allow for more realistic throwing motion. [FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** Movement animations while prone are currently extremely comedic. The assumption is that these are placeholder. [FRD: Noted]

**STATUS:** [LucasArts: Approved with changes]
## Hero Unlocking (Heroes unlock at certain point criteria during gameplay)

Overall

* Acceptable first pass at functionality of unlocking the hero

Good

* Heroes are available for play.

Areas to Improve

* **Class B:** The first tier, second tier heroe functionality previously discussed isn’t implemented. [FRD: This will be in place for FP]
* **Class B:** Heroes should not time-out automatically. Is there a design currently for how players will lose their hero? – **needs to be addressed for First Playable** [FRD: Information can be found in the Hero\_System page of the BF3 Wiki]
* **Class C:** Hero unlock seems solely based on timer and always goes to the player. It doesn’t seem to be affected by who the best player is. Is this a bug? [FRD: The hero is allocated to the best human player – AI players are excluded]
* **Class C:** When hero choice is presented and selected by the player, they are taken to the class selection screen. The expectation is that the player will be taken to the spawn point selection screen with some graphic depicting their hero choice, – **needs to be addressed for First Playable** [FRD: We’ll investigate]
* **Class C:** When the player is given the option to select a hero, the text needs to be specific and indicate that the player will be respawning rather than continuing from their current position, e.g. “Would you like to join the battle as HERO? Selecting YES will respawn you at a friendly command post.” [FRD: We would prefer the player to remain in the same place on the map rather than respawn at a friendly CP]
* **Class C:** A graphic, e.g. portrait, of the available hero needs to be displayed to the player when they are prompted to select that hero. [FRD: Noted]

**STATUS:** [LucasArts: Approved as first pass with fixes]
## FX – sand on Tatooine (blowing around)

Overall

* First pass at sand on Tatooine

Areas to Improve

* **Class B:** The sand only appears when you are standing in it, and seemingly looking a certain direction. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable** [FRD: This will be addressed for FP]
* **Class C:** The moving pattern of the sand seems somewhat repetitive when standing directly downwind (in front of it). [FRD: This will be improved]
* **Class C:** no soundfx associated with the sand – is the sound system in place to trigger this? [FRD: Yes]

**STATUS:** [LucasArts: Approved with fixes]
## FX – vehicle effects (dust / smoke / dirt / boosters)

Overall

* First pass at vehicle effects

Good

* The X-wing boost effect (afterburner) looks good.

Areas to Improve

* **Class B:** There should be a converse “cooling” effect on the X-wing’s engines when speed is reduced. [FRD: Noted]
* **Class B:** The hover effect on land vehicles is not appropriate for the terrain. Expected behavior – The air beneath a land vehicle is distorted, kicking up particles and interacting with the environment as appropriate. (e.g. Sand kicked up on Tatooine, grass flattened on Dantooine, leaves and debris swirl on Kashyyyk.) [FRD: Noted]
* **Class B:** Upon further review of the current re-entry flame effect, we’ve concluded that as great as the flames look, it still looks too much like the ship has caught on fire and should be taking damage. [FRD: Agreed] We would like to have the effect modified such that the flames are removed. Possibly the way to approach it is to cause the sections of the ship that are leading the way into the atmosphere to glow bright red from the heat, and avoid having flames altogether.
* **Class B:** When boosting and in 1ˢᵗ person POV in a vehicle, the blurring of the cockpit is not conveying a sense of speed. The cockpit mesh should remain clear and unblurred whilst the world outside blurs as the player boosts. [FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** When the X-wing takes off, there is a pink puff of smoke that does not seem appropriate. [FRD: This is a bug and will be addressed]

**STATUS:** [LucasArts: Approved with fixes]
## HUD (1ˢᵗ pass) (functional with non-final graphics)

Overall

* Acceptable first pass at working HUD

Good

* Weapon icon updates as player changes primary and secondary weapons
* Weapon ammo number counts down as player fires/uses a weapon
* Reinforcement count goes down over time
* CP indicator has 3 states for friendly, enemy, neutral, and cycles between correctly as CPs change hands.
* Health and Sprint indicator is functional and relatively easy to find.
* In general we like the transparency level of the HUD elements.

Areas to Improve

* **Class B:** it’s impossible to tell which CP icon at the top of the HUD represents what CP in the map. What do you think of adding visual differentiation to the icons for CPs in the capital ships v CPs on the ground? E.g. adding small arrows on top and below the icon. Alternatively it may be helpful to label or number the CPs and their corresponding icons. – **needs to be addressed for First Playable** [FRD: This will be addressed]
* **Class B:** The victory/defeat announcement doesn’t last long enough, nor is it visible enough. When the map ends, players don’t know what happened. The text needs to be larger, centered onscreen, and last for a longer period of time. We would also expect to hear victory or defeat appropriate music, and possibly VO or SFX. [FRD: Noted. Current implementation is purely placeholder and will be addressed]
* **Class B:** In splitscreen the HUD elements are compressed and hard to read. [FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** The faction indicator on the upper left of the screen is a good start at providing player with information about what faction they are in. However, it seems to take an inordinate amount of screen real estate, it could be moved within the circular sprint/health indicator. [FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** We suggest a more muted color such as grey for the neutral CP indicator. (not final art) [FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** The mini-map graphics intrude into the minimap graphic element (not final art) [FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** Players should be able to switch between a rotating mini-map (current implementation) and a static minimap with a player POV indicator. (option?) [FRD: We believe the rotating minimap will suffice]
* **Class C:** Target health bars should be closer to the target. Currently they float too far above and don’t appeare to be linked with the target.
* **Class C:** The score screen after a match should always showcase the player’s stats over AI stats, or other player’s stats, e.g. a color highlight on the player’s name and score.
* **Class C:** We need a distinct “Hero Bar” distinctive from regular health to indicate the length of time the player has remaining to play as a Hero, i.e. change the color of the health bar with some indication to the player that it’s an indicator for their hero timer. In BFII the hero received more time by killing/scoring in-game and lost time when they were hit for damage. If this approach is taken, there needs to be a clear system which communicates to the player why their hero bar is going up (it seems fairly clear why it’s going down as it’s the same as the infantry health bar).

**STATUS:** [LucasArts: Approved with changes]
## Basic Front end with desired structure

Overall

* Front-end flow doesn’t match designed Main Menu Flow in Wiki or Design Overview documents.

Areas to Improve

* **NOTE:** Is there an updated design doc with the intended flow that the current menu follows? [FRD: Yes, this will be supplied, and will be in the next wiki export]
* **Class B:** Currently, to go to an Instant Action game, the player must use 6+ button presses to enter the game. We need to get the player into the game quicker. Ideally it should take a minimum of 3-4 button presses to start an Instant Action game. [FRD: Agreed. We will investigate.]
* **Class B:** What is the intended ‘look’ for the BFIII menu? 2d or 3d? The current look is very standard and unaesthetic fare, but that’s to be expected of placeholder art and flow. Please provide a schedule for when you anticipate the artwork flow to come online. We would like to review the art direction of the UI prior to it being implemented in the game to provide feedback before too much work is implemented. [FRD: Agreed. We will keep you updated during progress, and welcome your input, ensuring you are happy with the direction it is taking]
* **Class C:** There’s a timing disconnect between button presses and updates to the UI when navigating between menus. This may be related to the animation of the menu moving across the screen. The expectation is that player control in the menu will be fluid and without pause. [FRD: This will be improved]
* **Class C:** The final score screen of a split-screen match does not need to be split. This would make the screen easier to read. [FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** After ending a game, the player is returned to the “Press START” screen. They should be returned to the map selection menu of the game mode they just exited from, or to the main game menu. [FRD: Noted]
* **Class C:** The “Select” and “Back” buttons on the left and right bottom of the screen often switch places with each other depending on which screen one happens to be in. The placement of these should always be the same in all screens. Intuitively most players will expect “back” to be on the left, and “select” to be on the right. [FRD: Noted]

**STATUS:** [LucasArts: Approved with changes]
## Art – Endor – Phase 0

Overall

* Phase 0 accepted. Will review for scale and gameplay.

Areas to Improve

* The terrain and trees draw in and morph around the player. [FRD: This is a bug]

**STATUS:** [LucasArts: Approved]
## Art – Droid Control Ship – Phase 0

Overall

* Phase 0 accepted. Will review for scale and gameplay.

Areas to Improve

* **Class B:** It is very difficult to navigate through the narrow openings in the walls. It may be too difficult for the first VBF mission in the game. Are there any plans to have these openings expand or contract? [FRD: We’ll widen these]

**STATUS:** [LucasArts: Approved with hangar walls addressed]
## Art – Desolation Station / Death Star Construction

Overall

* Phase 0 accepted. Will review for scale and gameplay.

**STATUS:** [LucasArts: Approved]
## Art – Death Star 2 (End of Endor) – Phase 0

Overall

* Phase 0 accepted. Will review for scale and gameplay

**STATUS:** [LucasArts: Approved]
## Additional Art Feedback

* Vehicle Cockpits
	+ Are the cockpits & camera positions in MS8 sufficiently far enough along to allow for feedback? If so, an addendum will follow with that feedback. [FRD: Feedback would be welcome]
* CIS Cruiser
	+ **Class B:** There seem to be distorted/corrupted textures outside the door to the bridge. [FRD: We’ll investigate]
	+ **Class B:** Look to add more windows or panel displays which show the action outside the ship throughout the ship’s interior. [FRD: We’ll investigate the feasibility of this]
	+ **Class B:** Exterior – Antennae and other small objects should break off when collided with, and should be destructible through weapon fire. [FRD: Noted]
	+ **Class B:** The expectation is that weapon fire will cause decals to the outside and inside textures on the cruiser. Current PS2 games have systems that blend damaged textures (not decals) to replace the original texture, and are a great way of showcasing damage without having deformable or destructible objects. [FRD: Can you name the games that you refer to? We’ll investigate]
* Tatooine
	+ **Class B:** There are noticeable repeating textures around the republic base, in the hangar, and on parts of the terrain. e.g. the metallic ground. [FRD: This will be addressed for FP]
* Command Posts
	+ **Class B:** It is unclear when a command post changes hands. Will there be a more conspicuous and engaging visual effect associated with capturing a command post? [FRD: Noted]
		- E.g. When a command post would transition in Battlefront 2 it began as a red pillar of light which was reduced in size and intensity over time. It was then replaced with a white – neutral – pillar of light until the player was able to capture. Once the player began capturing a CP a blue pillar would expand from the base of the CP.
		- Could CP ownership in some way affect surrounding objects? [FRD: Dynamic lighting can be applied]
			* E.g. computer panels in the republic base might be blue when the CP is owned by the Republic, but red when owned by the CIS.
* Lando Calrissian
	+ Lando’s face seems a bit off model
		- His eyes appear to be too close together.
		- The shape of the eyes does not seem quite right.
		- The forehead seems a bit higher, and the hair a bit taller.
		- The skin tone isn’t quite a match.
	+ Lando’s costume looks great
		- However, it is unclear how his cape stays on.
			* In the game, will he have the cape over his shoulders as he does in the film?
* Princess Leia
	+ Leia’s face seems a bit off model
		- In Episode IV, her face was bit longer and more narrow than in the game model.
			* In the game model her cheeks seem somewhat exaggerated.
	+ Her body also seems a bit off model
		- Overall, her frame seems a bit wider than she does in the film reference.
	+ Question: Will Leia (and the other female characters) have a unique female rig?
	+ Question: How much of Leia’s costume will be controlled by cloth physics?
* Krayt Dragon
	+ The Krayt Dragon is looking good. It will be passed on to Licensing for review.
* Rebel Marksman
	+ When looking directly at the marksman, there is a clear texture seam running along the front of her helmet.
	+ Overall her proportions seem somewhat masculine. (e.g. broad shoulders, subdued curves)
		- As with Leia, our expectation is that she will be driven by a female animation rig and will move in a noticeably different manner than the male characters.
* Snow Trooper
	+ In the film reference there are some aurbesh markings on the snow trooper’s backpack that do not appear on the in game model.
* Imperial Officer
	+ The Imperial officer’s hat does not appear to be textured
	+ His badges stretch across his chest.
	+ Question: Where will the Imperial Officer model be used in game?
* Clone Trooper
	+ His colored markings are gone.
		- Lucas Licensing approved the 501ˢᵗ (blue) markings for this trooper.
		- They have also invited FRD to develop a new pattern.
* Clone Engineer
* Wearing an Episode II helmet
	+ The four markings on his chest are stretched along the breast plate
* Clone Sharpshooter
	+ Wearing an Episode II helmet
* Clone Lancer
	+ Wearing an Episode II helmet
	+ We had discussed possibly giving this character a cloak, or another differentiating feature. Is that still under consideration?
* Jango Fett
	+ There is some inconsistency in the quality of the textures on his body.
		- See his wrist armor specifically.
* A-wing
	+ The open ports on the nose of the ship are smaller than reference. [FRD: Noted]
	+ It is difficult to make out any detail in the engine assembly because of the intensity of the light.
* Millennium Falcon
	+ There are visibly stretched textures on the inner rim of the four sunken circles on the front of the ship.
	+ There are a couple of places on the top of the ship that are missing red detail
	+ The scorch pattern on the top of the ship is missing a scorch mark
	+ There is a detail element missing from the corridor near the top turret
	+ Not all of the connecting pieces on the back of the ship should be lying flat, some of them are at an angle.
	+ On the underside of the ship, there should be piping leading in to the four open areas.
	+ There aren’t any bullet holes on the underside of the ship, there is a gash near the cockpit though.
	+ Some of the red detailing on the back of the ship does not seem to match the reference
* Sith Infiltrator
	+ On the underside of the ship, there are to gray lines beneath the cockpit. In the reference they are longer and spaced further from one another.
* CIS E-5 Blaster
	+ Only one side of the blaster seems to have any detail. The other side is textured, but the surface appears completely flat.
	+ Some details are off on the detailed side of the weapon.
* Thermal Detonator
	+ Some of the textures on the thermal detonator’s faces do not seem to match up with their neighbors.
	+ Overall, the thermal detonator could appear more metallic (shiny) as they do in the reference.
	+ Question: Is this thermal detonator exclusively for in-game use (i.e. only appears when thrown by a unit in the game) or will the player ever see it close up (e.g. in a character selection screen) [FRD: No, this will not feature on a character select screen. It is only in-game]
	+ If it is intended for close-up use, the level of detail is not acceptable.

There should be a blinking dynamic light on thermal detonators so that players can recognize them in the game world. [FRD: Noted]
* Diffusion Gun / Disruptor Pistol
	+ The blue module suggests that the gun may be a “freeze ray”. Is there another color that might be more appropriate? [FRD: Or a ‘water pistol’? We welcome any suggestions you have regarding it’s colour]
* CIS Rocket Launcher
	+ There is no opening in the barrel of the rocket launcher.
	+ Question: Will the SBD carry this weapon, or will they be firing wrist-mounted rockets?
* Weapons – General
	+ There is no opening in the barrel of any of the weapons. [FRD: This would be an unnecessary cost for a rarely seen detail]

Rendering

* Explosion Effects
	+ Smoke and explosions seem to clip through surrounding geometry. [FRD: We’ll investigate]
* Cloth Physics
	+ Cloth does not appear in the current build. When will we see it again? [FRD: Noted]

## Comments/Bugs

Bugs

* AI are seen to consistently fly their ships onto the lip of the hangar and are then unable to traverse the VBF in Conquest – **needs to be addressed for First Playable** [FRD: Noted]
* Camera swings to much side to side before character turns, sometimes leading to clipping or loss of camera control [FRD: Noted]
* Characters are currently forced into target locking each other in a Jedi Arena game – how will target lock be broken? [FRD: Target lock will disengage when the target moves out of range. Do you have any alternative suggestions?]

Comments

* + Although we understand that the current HUD elements are all placeholder graphics, please note that:

We generally feel they currently take up too much space, particularly the non-functional aspects of the mini-map.

* + Consider making the HUD distinctive between factions, possibly different graphics or different colors.

In the stage we noticed a CIS rocket launcher, but the CIS faction’s rocket launcher is the Super Battle Droid’s arm. [FRD: The stage will be updated and this weapon will be removed]
* Jump animation is too airy/weightless right now, for both hero characters and especially normal infantry units – **stretch goal to be addressed for First Playable** [FRD: This will be improved]
* Grenades, weapon fire etc; should more dynamically light tight environments and leave substantial decals, modified textures etc. – **stretch goal to be addressed for First Playable** [FRD: Agreed but will not be in FP]
* What default is planned for the Crosshair? Currently it defaults to OFF which has received less than positive response. [FRD: The default can be ON if preferred? What are your thoughts?]
* Currently, “sticky reticules” will stick to unoccupied vehicles. Sticky reticules should only cause cursor to “stick” to vehicles currently inhabited by enemy players [FRD: Noted]

## Milestone 9 – Due January 22ⁿᵈ,2007

**Milestone 9 - Monday 22ⁿᵈ January 2007**
Running on X360 and PS3

* What progress should we expect in other areas of the FPM not noted below? Will those specific iterative improvements be detailed in the roadmap? [FRD: Yes]
* All Placeholder assets removed
	+ Is this on Tatooine only? [FRD: All non BF3 placeholder assets will be removed. This is not level specific]
* Jedi Force Power (Jump and Sprint)
	+ Rather than BF2 style jumping (multiple jumps in parabolic arcs across the map), explore a charged Jedi Knight style jump/double-jump that will allow for greater maximum heights but would not allow “bunny hopping” across the battlefield [FRD: We’ll investigate]
	+ Charged force powers (jump, push, pull) that are more expensive to use but have a greater effect and animation [FRD: This will not be present in MS9]
* HUD map (Space, 1ˢᵗ pass) (functional with non-final graphics)
	+ Is this a full screen map or just the mini-map? [FRD: Both]
	+ If minimap, is it following the design in the Wiki with the “3d” version which shows vehicle location and targets above/below you? [FRD: We aren’t doing the 3D version]
* Vehicle and spacecraft handling models final for evaluation
	+ Please specify the exact vehicles and whether their handling will be representative of other vehicles within their types, i.e. as you don’t have tracked vehicles in-game, we cannot sign off on their handling yet. [FRD: Handling will be representative of all types in that class]
	+ Will these only be on Tatooine or other levels as well? [FRD: Tatooine only]
	+ We had discussed making troop transports into spawn points to facilitate traveling the VBF – will this be incorporated into MS9? [FRD: Not by MS9 but by FP]
* AI navigation and combat for all parts of Vertical Battlefield
	+ Please clarify what this means, i.e. AI will use all vehicle types including escape pods to travel the VBF. Will AI dogfight more than we’ve seen currently? We anticipate seeing more interesting AI behavior. [FRD: AI will not use escape pods]
* Galactic Conquest Design - finalized

Art

* Hoth - Phase 0
* Cato Neimoida - Phase 0
* Mustafar - Phase 0
* Rebel Cruiser (Mon Calamari) - Phase 0
* Death Star (Tributary Beam part) - Phase 0

Setup (Multiplayer)

* Tatooine Phase 1

Setup (Story)

* Cato Neimoida Phase 0
* Mustafar Phase 0
* Yavin IV Phase 0
* Hoth Phase 0
* Rebel Cruiser (Mon Calamari) Phase 0
* Desolation Station / Death Star Construction Phase 0
* Voice recording (LucasArts)
	+ We have not seen any of the in-game audio scripted, e.g. gameplay related (changing CPs), radio chatter, etc. Expectation is to have this audio in for FPM.

**Overall Rating: *PASS***