Tweet Facebook Mail Star Wars die-hards in Sydney have been given the chance to play new game Star Wars Outlaws early. Fans piled into the Microsoft Experience Centre at the Pitt Street Mall on Saturday, to spend an hour with the video game ahead of its official launch on August 30. Cloé Hammoud, an Associate World Designer on the project, can't wait to see what players think.
READ MORE: Matthew Perry's bleak last words revealed Players can mingle with the locals, taking part is games of Sabacc, betting on Fathier races and more. (Ubisoft) READ MORE: Bringing Star Wars Outlaws to life: 'We sat in George Lucas' old office' "We are all very excited to finally see players reacting to what we've crafted over these years," Hammoud told 9news.com.
au. "I'm really excited to see people discovering these two experiences [linear missions vs. open exploration] and the different tools and gadgets that we provide to players from their ship to their speeder.
" Set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of The Jedi , Star Wars Outlaws follows the story of Kay Vess, a scoundrel (not unlike Han Solo) trying to rise through the ranks of the galaxy's underworld. And you can't have a game about Star Wars crime syndicates without including Jabba the Hutt. READ MORE: 'Tech king' missing after luxury superyacht sinks in freak storm Players get an early taste of Star Wars Outlaws at the Microsoft Experience Centre.
(ximOpti via X) "He's the leader of one of the four big crime syndicates," explained Samuel De Vos, the game's lead concept artist. "Just like with any other leader of the crime syndicates, the other three, that experience will be quite similar." "There is no type of paywall specifically to the Hutt Cartel.
" Gamers were worried that the fan favourite character would not feature in the base game after articles appeared in April reporting that players would have to pay extra to play a specific side mission called "Jabba's Gambit." READ MORE: Perth man in coma after being critically injured in Bali moped accident Cue the Imperial March theme song. (Nine) Cloé Hammoud says Ubisoft never considered relegating the character to DLC and says the team had gone to painstaking lengths to make sure every player gets to experience Jabba's Palace like never before.
"Of course, because it's one of the most notorious crime lords we had to feature him," Hammoud said. "We are not going to reveal all of the details, but we put a lot of passion into making sure he looks just the way he looks in the movies." "Lucasfilm Games gave us access to the schematic of [Jabba's] throne room so we have, to the inch, the perfect throne room as it was for the movies.
" "That is something very cool that I hope players will enjoy...
and feel the mystery but also how scary this place can be." Kay Vess is the main character in the upcoming video game Star Wars: Outlaws. (Ubisoft) READ MORE: Blast of warm weather across Australia to farewell winter That attention to detail extends well beyond Jabba's throne room.
Knowing fans will scrutinise every letter in every language, De Vos says the team took full advantage, hiding Easter eggs that only the most hard-core, Star Wars fans could find. "Fans go into this nitty gritty detail, so there are definitely a lot of little Easter eggs and references to specific locations so that, if you do pay attention to the visual detail in the game, we have little rewards. "I'm excited to see that released to everyone to really see how vast that spans throughout all the planets that you get to discover.
" READ MORE: Telstra and Optus unite to delay 3G Switch-off You're able to upgrade your speeder and ship to make them faster, more durable and handle better. (Nine) Hammoud added that the team collaborated with experts to ensure the sign language of certain alien groups was as accurate as possible. "When it comes to the Tusken Raiders, they are going to speak with their hands," she explained.
"A lot of care went into this making sure that we have, you know, the material that Lucasfilm games gave us to make sure we translate what they would say with hand signs." Kijimi features in the ninth film in the saga. (Nine) READ MORE: Upcoming Apple iPhone 16 to come in vibrant new colours The stitch-up of nation's beloved sporting hero View Gallery "For one of the planets that we crafted, which is called Toshara, we have created a brand new local group and their own language.
"All of these different details call back to what George Lucas did when he crafted the original trilogy." Given the game is set after what is arguably the best and most beloved film in the entire franchise, there's every chance players come across some more familiar faces. Samuel De Vos and Cloe , from Ubisoft, have been developing new game Star Wars Outlaws (Nine) Han Solo was frozen in carbonite at the time, and there's every chance Kay spots him in Jabba's Palace, but when 9news.
com.au asked if Kay Vess would cross paths with Luke, Leia, Bobba Fett, Chewbacca or Lando, the team at Ubisoft kept those secrets close to their chest. "This story is about Kay.
The spotlight is going to be on her and we won't reveal who she's gonna meet in which context. I think it's gonna be up to you to discover it," said Hammoud. "(There are) definitely a few surprises so definitely worth sitting around and seeing who's going to show up at which times,De Vos added.
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