Aspyr Media has been accused of stealing fan mods for its new Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection remaster.
Revealed during a Nintendo Direct alongside Grounded and more, Pandemic’s Star Wars Battlefront 1 and 2 have both been remastered with 4K textures and new content on all platforms. However, that new content has allegedly not been made by Aspyr.
The new remasters include content that was only available as DLC in the Original Xbox version of the game. Over the years, fans have modded in characters and maps, including the adorable Jedi Kit Fisto and the evil sith Asajj Ventress.
However, fans noticed that the restored content doesn’t match the official assets on the old Xbox. Instead, the developer has seemingly used an outdated version of a mod for the PC version, one that has since been changed to be more accurate than what’s included in the premium release.
In the Original Xbox version, Ventress holds her dual lightsabers by a fibrecord in one hand, but the original mod had her holding one lightsaber in each hand. As noted by the PCGaming subreddit, the modder eventually added in the proper assets and animations to match the Xbox version in a later update.
However, the trailer for Aspyr Media’s Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection shows off these old, outdated, unofficial assets. Not only have fans noticed, but so has the original modder, and they aren’t happy with the way Aspyr has gone about using their work.
“The point of this wasn't really: OMG, they took my stuff without permission', they dont need it,” the modder said. “I am thrilled something I worked on is actually in the game. The issue is that the version they are using is outdated.”
The original modder explained that the game’s new maps can use the official Xbox files but the “heroes were reconstructed” due to multiple issues.
“That is the issue I have, we fixed the issues and now the Xbox DLC Mod ONLY uses the actual Xbox heroes and the Classic Collection does not,” they said. “I know they are certainly using the older heroes from my mod because there were personal touches I made in order to make them work well with modified anims, especially Asajj who needed her sabers remade because she has a unique saber type on Xbox.”
Aspyr Media has often used mods to bring back cut content to Star Wars games, although this has typically been done with express permission. For example, the controversial Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 remaster gave everyone access to the Cut Content mod that restored quests, voice lines and even locations. While not perfectly implemented, it was a great addition for the community.
Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection not only uses mods without asking the original creators, but also uses outdated versions. Perhaps if they reached out to the original modder, they would’ve been able to use a more accurate, complete version of these heroes. As it stands, players will be left with unfinished additions.
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