With the advent of Star Wars Battlefront on the Steam marketplace and Gamespy's shutdown on May 31, 2014, official multiplayer is unfortunately no longer an option. However, through the use of a third party service, we can circumvent that problem. This guide will be your companion to accomplish that. Anyway, without further ado, let us begin.

Download link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lRy3oYFwvlMWPXWMEiM4fVASNxbfcFN-/view

Installation instructions: Once downloaded, you will want to rename the main executable (battlefront.exe) to anything of your choosing (as long as it's not the default name that it is normally) and then, just like before, you'll want to rename the Shell.lvl file as well. After you've done that, you can take the files that you downloaded and place them in the same location that the original files reside. With that done, you should be able to play multiplayer again, but it's strongly recommended to not launch the game from the Steam browser because doing so can cause Steam to auto-update and remove the changes you've made. Instead of doing that, it's advised to launch the game from the game folder directly.

Steam version directory/file path for battlefront.exe: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Star Wars Battlefront (Classic 2004)\GameData

Steam version directory/file path for Shell.lvl: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Star Wars Battlefront (Classic 2004)\GameData\Data\_LVL_PC\Shell\ENG

GOG version directory/file path for battlefront.exe: C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Star Wars - Battlefront\GameData

GOG version directory/file path for Shell.lvl: C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Star Wars - Battlefront\GameData\Data\_LVL_PC\Shell\ENG

If you'd rather not use our files, then you can always use this method and edit a few files to get the same result.

First, you'll need to download a hex editor[en.wikipedia.org] of your choosing, (I recommend using HxD[mh-nexus.de]) and then open the Shell.lvl file with your hex editor. Moving on from there it's rather simple, just use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+G and then you'll be prompted to search for an offset. The offset you want to search for is 5CFA9 with no added spaces of any kind, where you'll then change the single byte 6C to 77. Save changes and you can close your hex editor.

Now that the Shell.lvl has been modified, the only thing left to do is to do the same with the 'hosts' file. Once opened, (can be opened with a text editor of your choice, including notepad) Add the following text to the bottom of the file and save changes once finished:

162.248.92.172 swbfrontpc.ms4.gamespy.com
162.248.92.172 swbfrontpc.available.gamespy.com
162.248.92.172 available.gamespy.com
162.248.92.172 master.gamespy.com
162.248.92.172 swbfrontpc.master.gamespy.com
162.248.92.172 motd.gamespy.com
162.248.92.172 key.gamespy.com
162.248.92.172 peerchat.gamespy.com
162.248.92.172 gpsp.gamespy.com
162.248.92.172 gpcm.gamespy.com
162.248.92.172 natneg1.gamespy.com

With that done, you should be able to play multiplayer again, but it's strongly recommended to not launch the game from the Steam browser because doing so can cause Steam to auto-update and remove the changes you've made. Instead of doing that, it's advised to launch the game from the game folder directly. Also, if you have any issues editing the 'hosts' file due to a permission related error, then you need only take the aforementioned file and place it somewhere outside of the folder its normally in. Just make sure that if you take the file out that you place it back after you're done editing it.

Steam version directory/file path for Shell.lvl: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Star Wars Battlefront (Classic 2004)\GameData\Data\_LVL_PC\Shell\ENG

GOG version directory/file path for Shell.lvl: C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Star Wars - Battlefront\GameData\Data\_LVL_PC\Shell\ENG

Directory/file path for 'hosts' file: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

If by chance you're having difficulty with the other methods, then I recommend using this auto-installer that will do the work for you. I don't know for sure because I didn't create this auto-installer, but you should only use this assuming your file structure is unchanged; you haven't moved the directory of any folders or messed with folder names. With that said, I didn't make this tool; credit goes to SleepKiller from SWBFGamers.com.

Download link[www.swbfgamers.com]

As mentioned previously, this guide takes advantage of a third party master server, one that was developed by the people at SWBFGamers.com. All credit for the master server goes to the SWBFGamers[info.swbfgamers.com] staff who developed it, as this guide is in no way attempting to take credit for others' creations. I hope that is made very clear.

Shell.lvl edit to restore multiplayer button developed/created by AnthonyBF2.

Guide installation instructions/tutorial written by William.

Well, there you have it, I hope I explained everything well and didn't cause any unnecessary confusion, and if you have any questions then you know where to leave them.

I suppose I should add that while it's indeed possible that Disney/GOG or some other company will revive online multiplayer, for the time being, this is all we're going to get and I think it's important to rally as many people as possible before the hype of this new release dies down to maximize player-base. My hope is that they are using the game in its current state as a means to test the waters, checking to see if enough people are interested in the game before committing to anything like restoring multiplayer themselves. Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. Enjoy playing classic Battlefront online!