Many gamers of a certain age probably miss the days before matchmaking replaced server browsers and custom servers, which let players moderate communities and stay online after developers ended official support. A dedicated group of modders is bringing significant upgrades to a project that aims to resurrect old-school functionality in EA’s Star Wars Battlefront sequel.
Those who own EA’s modern version of Star Wars Battlefront II (as opposed to the recently re-released 2005 version) on PC can now sign up for an upcoming playtest for a mod package that adds custom dedicated servers and other features. The trial begins later this month and the developers plan to release the full package soon after depending on the results.
Kyber V2 includes a server browser that lets players connect to the mod team’s servers, host custom servers, and start local offline sessions with other players or bots. New gameplay features include in-game events, a proximity voice chat using the same system as Fortnite and Valorant, stat tracking, a spectator mode with a first and third-person view, a rotation editor, and server admin tools.
Stat tracking includes information from community servers and EA’s official servers for PC and Xbox players. Hosts can set passwords, privacy controls, maximum player count, game mode rotations, and more. Discord integration means that a player’s current in-game status appears on their Discord profile, and friends can join or view server info directly from the chat app.
The software also changes the experience of starting Battlefront II. Kyber V2 completely replaces the game’s original launcher, meaning players no longer need the EA app to boot the game up. Another widely-used mod suite, Frosty, is also no longer required.
Finding and downloading mods might also become significantly easier with Kyber V2. The software is integrated with Nexus Mods and lets players browse mods from within the game. Furthermore, when logging into a custom server, the game will automatically download any necessary mods.
Interested players can download Kyber from the official website. The modders also have a Patreon and a Discord server. Users must own a legitimate copy of Battlefront II from EA’s Origin app, but those who own it on other platforms – like the Epic Games Store which offered it for free in 2021 – can redeem a copy on Origin.