Hey guys, we’re quite sorry about the delay on this update, but the stuff we wanted to show off wasn’t quite ready to show off. We won’t let that happen again.
Anyhow, I have a few things for you today. First off is some great music created by steb74. These pieces will be featured on our previously announced map, Battle of Yavin. If you missed the initial announcement for Battle of Yavin, you can check out the old news post here.
So, without further ado, this first piece is what you will be presented with as your map loads: mp3
This second piece is an appropriately dark fanfare that you will hear if the Empire successfully destroys Yavin IV: mp3
And finally, a beautiful fanfare that you will hear should the Rebel’s accomplish the impossible and blow up the Empire’s technological menace: mp3
Secondly, I have a new map to reveal to you. This map is one of two that will take place on the planet Rhen Var in the upcoming release and is known as “Rhen Var Research Facility”. It’s quite a different experience when compared to your standard battlefield map, but an incredibly fun one as well. The level takes place in a heavy blizzard with a very low level of visibility, creating a lot of large firefights around the various control points causing you to constantly be at the ready as you never know when you might bump into a squad of Snowtroopers.
Gamemode Description: This is a Push: Double Assault map. Both Imperial and Rebel forces can take and hold any flag. The team that drives the other off the map wins. The minimap indicates connected flags.
Map Briefing: “During a Rebel armoured assault on an Imperial research facility on Rhen Var, a small team of Alliance commandos has successfully made an insertion to the west of the facility via cloaked transport. With the majority of the Imperial forces engaging the enemy to the east, the base’s remaining infantry and light armour must fend off the small but capable assault team, which has been tasked with capturing or eliminating any assets under construction within the facility.”
Stay tuned, we promise to have another update for you within the week. And this time we really mean it. Also, 1.2 is very near completion, please be patient. We want to release to you the best product we can. All content is in game and being heavily tested, we are just working out some final kinks in the balance before we can get it to all of you. Also, for server admins, if you've found the 1.1r server files to cause modified content issues for you, please grab the 1.15r server files from our downloads page.
With the release of First Strike v1.2 just around the corner, we're pleased to present you with previews of the maps that you will find in our upcoming patch. Today we focus on Tatooine Bestine, and Endor Clearing, two very different, and very enjoyable maps.
Backstory
Completing a daring planet drop and pick up at Mos Entha, three Alliance Gallofree transports finally retrieved a group of stranded Rebel troops under siege by Imperial ground forces. Attempting to avoid the battle against Imperial forces still raging in orbit, the transports flew low and headed for an escape vector over the far side of the planet. Unfortunately, due to a navigational error they strayed too close to the Imperial capital city of Bestine. Once detected, the city’s defensive turbolasers shot down one of the transports. The remaining transports have made an emergency landing near the city outskirts, and the Rebels must now disable the city’s turbolaser emplacements to have any hope of escape.
Downed Transports
Although this will be TY2D2's first official map for First Strike, what a map it is. Featuring not one, not two, but three Gallofree transports (although one of them did get shot up by the Empire's massive turbolaser emplacements), various speeders, tanks, and a Mortar Freerunner (a Rebel Armoured Freerunner modified to fill an artillery role), there is rarely a break in the action during a round on Bestine. The pushmap gamemode keeps the fighting focused by preventing whack-a-mole style conquest that can spread forces thin, and the new vehicles add a great dynamic to urban combat in First Strike. Bestine brings intense infantry and vehicle combat throughout the richly populated and detailed city environment, and is sure to be a player favorite along the lines of BF2's popular Strike at Karkand come the release of v1.2. Enjoy these screenshots of some of Bestine's beautiful vistas:
Backstory
During the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, Imperial forces scattered across the forest moon. One platoon of Imperial troopers who returned from their recon mission too late to reinforce the shield generator has decided to cut their losses and run. They have two Lambda class shuttles ready to evacuate them, but with the Rebel fleet still in orbit, fleeing to space would be doomed to failure. However, while monitoring Alliance com chatter they discovered a Gallofree transport that crash landed near their position during the battle in orbit. If they could salvage the vessel’s transponder, it could be their ticket off the planet. But as the platoon approaches the wreckage, a Rebel Alliance search and rescue team arrives...
Transports That Have Crashed
Those Gallofrees just can't seem to keep themselves from plowing into the ground at high velocity, eh? Well it's a good thing it makes for a fun map. Clearing features some plain old infantry fun through fern covered meadows, huge trees, and even across the previously unreleased Ewok Water Village. With plenty of trees to hide behind on the outskirts of the control point areas, taking and holding CPs in Clearing's clearings can be challenging without a well coordinated squad. Teamwork and strategy are key to pushing back the enemy in this map, and you should never underestimate the value of flanking your targets. Endor Clearing's long sight lines, scattered cover, and beautiful environment make it an excellent map for 1.2, and these screenshots speak volumes:
Pin This Up
Last for today, but certainly not least, we have a cool new wallpaper for you to download that features First Strike starfighters in an iconic formation to get you pumped for 1.2
Be sure to check back here over the next couple days for previews of more of our new maps, and info on when 1.2 will be available for download. Until then, enjoy the wallpaper, and may the force be with you!
Continuing our publicity drive to get the word out to the masses as we gear up for the release of First Strike v.1.2, you will find an article about our good selves within the pages of the June issue of PC Gamer magazine where we are the featured Mod of the Month.
You can enjoy a preview of the article right here.
As we fast approach the date when you guys can get your grubby little mits on First Strike v1.2, the dev team was asked by JediNet to participate in an interview in anticipation of the new release.
Following is a taster of the resulting article. Follow the link to read the full story.
As a Star Wars fan and as a gamer, there comes a time when the typical run-of-the-mill Star Wars gaming experience might not be enough. Where’s the next great first/third person multiplayer action experience? If you don’t want to wait, there’s a great solution out there now. Surprisingly, I’m not referring to another LucasArts title, but to another game called Battlefield 2142. For some time, a dedicated group of developers and artists have donated their talents to creating a Star Wars based mod to this game. Now you can have realistic and satisfying gameplay set in the Star Wars universe using familiar characters and weapons.
This mod is titled “First Strike” and the development team is hard at work on the next release of the mod, anticipated for late April (possibly early May). There’s some exciting new sets and features to look forward to, but the one thing that has me and apparently many others excited about this is three words: Battle. Of. Yavin. That’s right, Porkins. You too can do the trench run!
I recently had the opportunity to interview the development team to get their thoughts about the mod and what’s coming up for the next release. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll be reading next…
Hey there troopers, we're pleased to begin the month of April with several important announcements. First up is the release of new server files for First Strike v1.1 which fix various bugs and add ranking functionality to the servers. Ranking can be toggled on or off through the use of Punkbuster on your server, and there are some requirements for stats to be recorded, details are explained below.
First Strike v1.1r Server Release Details:
-Fixed end of round bug on pushmaps (people hiding out after all flags have been captured no longer delays game) -Fixed certain issues with Imperial defense on endor -Fixed various crashing issues -Ranking can be turned on by enabling Punkbuster (turned off by disabling) -Must be at least six (6) players in a round for stats to be recorded by the stats server
Secondly, and probably more importantly for the majority you, we are extremely excited to announce that First Strike v1.2 will be ready for public consumption in about a month, and in the meantime you can enjoy this new wallpaper made by FSDev Imperial:
We are aiming for a late April release, but it may get pushed back to early May depending on our remaining testing. At any rate, you should be getting your hands on all of the new toys found in FS 1.2 very soon so charge those blasters and oil those droids, we'll see you on the battlefield!
Disclaimer
This site is a mod site run by unpaid volunteers for no commercial gain in any way shape or form. This site is not affiliated with Star Wars or Lucasarts. Star Wars and all logos, item names, etcetera, are copyrights of respective owners and are being used here on a purely for-fun, non-profit basis.
For the Official Star Wars Site please visit www.starwars.com
This mod, when released, will be free to download at www.lucasfiles.com Pending submission and Copyright issues.
FirstStrike make and produce all material included in this forthcoming download as a non commisioned or paid for service for non financial gain.
FirstStrike News
