Power management for motors, lasers, and shields
Power management is extremely important to pilots as different situations require prioritization of certain subsystems. For example, pilots can divert all power to lasers, allowing them to recharge faster and gain the ability to overload lasers to increase damage.
However, with all the power focused on lasers, the engines and / or shields will suffer and the pilots may move slower or have weaker defenses, which could ruin a rushed plan.
As for the other maximum power abilities, a maximized engine will allow a starfighter to charge and use a very powerful speed boost, “not unlike what Poe Dameron used in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”
Maximum shield power will allow for superior protectors, providing up to 200% armor for the front and back of your starfighter for defensive play.
However, not all starfighters have shields, and those fighters can use a power converter to quickly divert all power from lasers to engines or vice versa.
Star Wars: Squadrons also has options on how to handle power management, and players can switch between a “simplified, basic power management system and a more advanced one that allows them to more precisely control the amount of power going into each subsystem”.
In addition to power management, the integrity of the hull (boat condition) must also be monitored. Unfortunately, the hull will not automatically recharge as shields, but astromech and repair systems can be used to restore a ship. Returning to the hangar in a flagship will also allow a complete repair. Oh, and support starfighters can heal their allies.
Speaking of supporting starfighters, they can also resupply others on the battlefield. If there is no support ship nearby, flying under an allied crusher or in the capital ship’s hangar will also replenish your ammunition.
Standard weapons / lasers do not require ammunition and will be reloaded, but countermeasures, torpedoes, mines, and other components will have limited ammunition.
Starfighter classes: fighter, interceptor, bomber, support
Star Wars: Squadrons features eight starfighters: T-65B X-wing, BTL-A4 Y-wing, RZ-1 A-wing, UT-60D U-wing, TIE fighter, TIE bomber, TIE interceptor, and TIE Reaper, and four classes: fighter, interceptor, bomber and support.
The Fighter-class (X-wing and TIE fighter) are the most balanced starfighters and are good in most situations, but they don’t stand out at all.
The Interceptor class (A-wing Interceptor and TIE) are experts in dogfighting and have powerful, high-speed lasers. On the other hand, their shields are relatively weak compared to other classes.
The Bomber class (Y-wing and TIE bomber) is the slowest class, but they can take a lot of damage and can do even more. They are ideal for capital chip shelling and leading the assault on the front line.
Finally, the support class (U-wing and TIE Reaper) are dedicated to helping their allies by resupplying and repairing their starfighters. They can use tractor beams to stop or slow down enemies, drop mines, and deploy turrets to help change the course of a battle. They are not that fast and do not have much impact, but their value cannot be underestimated.
Recreating the authentic Star Wars Star Wars
Star Wars Squadrons Creative Director Ian Frazier spoke about how seriously the team took on the mission of recreating these iconic ships as faithfully as possible, while ensuring a balanced gaming experience for everyone.
A big focus, according to Frazier, was creating the cockpits for each ship. There’s a push and pull that needs to be honed between combining “the aesthetics of the movies and incorporating the necessary gameplay information as naturally as possible.”
“This means that when we want to communicate the charge level of their lasers in an X wing,” Frazier explained. “We designed the cockpit instruments for that as if we were Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) building the fixture in the 1970s. We don’t say” put a red light there, “we say” if you need to physically build this. Using the type of parts that ILM had, how would it be built? Is that light a light bulb? An LED? How it would integrate into the board and how its light would interact with everything around it. We make sure the displays are CRT with properly curved monitors, and so on. “
TIE fighters proved challenging because “there was no existing canonical guide [when we started development] As for exactly how those ships are piloted, which means we needed to figure out how things like the control yoke worked in a very practical sense. “To solve this, and to ensure the best experience for each ship, the EA Motive team worked with Lucasfilm, animators, and mocap actors in royal cabins built to find the right one for each starfighter.
This attention to detail is taken to another level when the “Instruments Only” mode is activated. This removes all elements of the user interface from the world and forces pilots to rely solely on cockpit instruments. It makes the game more difficult, but it provides ultimate immersion, especially when paired with VR headsets or using a HOTAS setting.
Star Wars: Squadrons Game Release and Reveal Date
Star Wars Squadrons will launch on October 2, 2020 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Squads will also be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, but a date has yet to be announced.
At EA Play Live 2020, Star Wars: Squadrons got its first gameplay reveal, and we learned more about its single-player campaign that unfolds after the Battle of Endor and the destruction of Death Star II.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who can’t wait and is so excited he just can’t hide it. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
