Star Wars: The Old Republic Random Question/Discussion thread - F2P

[Zerocool]

I don't know, progression in an MMO is a tricky thing. If you do something enough times it will eventually become a grind, and people will get bored. But if you make gear too easy to get, people will max gear and be bored with nothing to do. I guess that was Blizzards solution, was to make gear easy to get, but continuously put out content so that the players can still feel like they're progressing without grinding the same content for years until something drops.

Then, you look at games like counter-strike that people have been playing for years and years, the same maps, and whatever over and over. Why is this? It's accessible, you can jump in and just play, the gameplay is fun, and it's buy to play, so you don't feel like you have to be playing constantly to get your money's worth. So you can jump on whenever you want and I think that helps the player to not get burnt out as fast. Honestly I think GW2 is the closest thing taking these things and combining them with the things people like about MMOs.

I think most people are tired of the raid grind, having to play on a schedule and grind out the same content over and over to progress. I'm sure there are still some people that do enjoy it, but then there's probably also a lot of people that just do it because they feel obligated to their guild or friends or whatever. I'll say this right now, and this is just my opinion, but raiding is not the future.

[Man0warr]

I think raiding should always be an option for endgame progression for those who enjoy it. But there should be other things to do at max level to advance your character as well that is given just as much attention by the developers as raiding.

[vrumpt]

What? Mission skills take up a profession slot like anything else. The only professions you can do anything with personally are the gathering ones.

yeah my bad, didn't know EVERYTHING was going on your crew members.

official guild testing stuff.

http://www.swtor.com/community/showt...95#post8273895

We are very pleased to announce the start of Guild Testing for STAR WARS: The Old Republic! This program will allow guilds to be considered as a whole for inclusion in the Game Testing Program, allowing us to gather important data regarding how guilds play The Old Republic, as well as how organized groups deal with various mechanics and systems in the game. The program is already underway, as we've invited the first wave of guilds into testing, however we'll be adding more over the coming weeks alongside the general Game Testing invites.

How do I sign my guild up for Guild Testing?

All you need to do in order to have your guild considered for Guild Testing is to have an active guild with at least 10 members registered in our Guild Headquarters. We also recommend creating a recruitment thread on our forums, but please make sure you are following the Recruitment Guidelines we've set forward. Guilds that spam recruitment messages after multiple warnings, for example, will not be considered for Guild Testing.

How are guilds selected for Guild Testing?

In general, guild testing is done randomly from all eligible guilds (that is, those with at least 10 registered members in the Guild Headquarters). Throughout the program, we will be looking to let in both large and small guilds, so as long as your guild meets the minimum requirement, you have an equal chance of being invited to testing. In addition, we may, at our discretion, choose a few select guilds that are active and helpful in the community, since we could use that sort of helpfulness in-game and on the Testing Forums. Note that this will be done in rare circumstances, in order to reward our dedicated community members. Please do not contact any BioWare staff requesting access to Guild Testing, or else your guild may be removed from consideration.

What is involved in Guild Testing?

Guild Testing works the same way as Game Testing does, however by being invited as a guild, you gain the advantage of being in the same testing group and being on the same server, allowing for more coordination amongst the guild for testing group content. You'll still be a part of the general Game Testing population as well, and will have access to the general testing forums as everyone else does.

Are European guilds eligible for Guild Testing?

European Guild Testing will begin at the same time the European Testing Program begins in the near future.

If you have any other questions about the program, feel free to post in this thread or email us at [email protected]. Again, please do not contact us asking for Guild Testing consideration or your guild may not be considered for testing.

[Grey Jorildyn]

I don't think its that TERA stole your show, I think its more ppl didn't like the "community" thing. Least thats what I picked up when you tried to pitch the idea before

Basically echoing what Xerlic said. Tera has been way more hyped than TOR on these boards. People are free to organize guilds with or without BG members afaik, I've only extended the same courtesy I would on any board where there isn't a guild forming up.

My gaming community actually doesn't run any differently than how BG currently organizes guilds. BG guilds for XI, XIV, and now Tera all have unique members with little, if any, overlap whatsoever. IGC is similar, and we screen our guild leaders quite a bit before handing them all that responsibility. Guess others aren't aware of that.

Anyhow, not trying to be confrontational, just explanatory. RI is open to applicants, but we are ready to go for guild/open beta phases with current membership.

[vrumpt]

Those who played KOTOR should be familiar with the race of the boss at the end of that trailer.

[Meko]

I don't know, progression in an MMO is a tricky thing. If you do something enough times it will eventually become a grind, and people will get bored. But if you make gear too easy to get, people will max gear and be bored with nothing to do. I guess that was Blizzards solution, was to make gear easy to get, but continuously put out content so that the players can still feel like they're progressing without grinding the same content for years until something drops.

Then, you look at games like counter-strike that people have been playing for years and years, the same maps, and whatever over and over. Why is this? It's accessible, you can jump in and just play, the gameplay is fun, and it's buy to play, so you don't feel like you have to be playing constantly to get your money's worth. So you can jump on whenever you want and I think that helps the player to not get burnt out as fast. Honestly I think GW2 is the closest thing taking these things and combining them with the things people like about MMOs.

I think most people are tired of the raid grind, having to play on a schedule and grind out the same content over and over to progress. I'm sure there are still some people that do enjoy it, but then there's probably also a lot of people that just do it because they feel obligated to their guild or friends or whatever. I'll say this right now, and this is just my opinion, but raiding is not the future.

I honestly couldn't agree more. I think raiding, for me, has killed my 'desire' to play MMO's. I remember playing FFXI, although it was my virgin MMO experience, it was interesting to level and group along the way. There were no real GRINDS per se and things felt bigger than a piece of gear. I really like force pop mobs and the way they handled short instances like Nyzul and Limbus. IMO, those are much more effective and entertaining ways to do things. I joined some friends last night for a Rag fight in WoW and I sat there for a couple hours learning the fight etc and it was just exhausting to the point where I wasn't having fun. In some ways, raiding is more hardcore than the FFXI methods of 3 hour spawns or force pop mobs because you can literally spend 5-10 hours a week (depending on your group/gear/skill/time) doing one raid with 7-10 bosses. That's a lot of time considering that's all you'll be doing. No randoms, PvP, farming, questing, dailies, etc are accounted for in that 10 hour window either.

[Elvis]

Those who played KOTOR should be familiar with the race of the boss at the end of that trailer.

Nice vid, but the UI could be a bit better IMO. Its not bad, but seems like it could have some more style (or maybe I'm just spoiled by GW2's UI).

[Kuishen]

So I did find something that bothered me. Taking an advanced class was so stupid easy that it was disappointing. Most games you at least have to complete a quest to unlock it, or even better a whole quest line, but here all you had to do was ask for it. -.-

I chose Sith Assassin, which I have a feeling I'm going to regret since Sorcerer seems infinitely more useful.

[Katlan]

So I did find something that bothered me. Taking an advanced class was so stupid easy that it was disappointing. Most games you at least have to complete a quest to unlock it, or even better a whole quest line, but here all you had to do was ask for it. -.-

I chose Sith Assassin, which I have a feeling I'm going to regret since Sorcerer seems infinitely more useful.

Assassin can dps rogue (WoW) style or dodge tank (Druid WoW style) through talents. You also get the saber which looks much more cool then dual wielding imo.

Sorc is either heals or caster dps.

I was let down by the adv quest also. Its nothing more then talk to somebody and pick your role. Would be cooler if they gave it a real quest and maybe gave you a different colored lightsaber crystal to define what advanced class you are from the outset. Since everyone has a default red until you can get a better crystal later.

And as much as I like sith over jedi. Jedi's first lightsaber is way more epic and geek moment inducing

[vrumpt]

I know at one point the advance class choice feedback thread on the testing forums was huge. Idk if it still is, but that seems like a good place to spam to get it fixed. I don't like it being so off the cuff either, thats just from hearing about it.

[vrumpt]

moar videos!

eternity vault is the same presentation they gave yesterday, only they show the entry dialogue and eat rockets to face much better and get past that first boss.

[Kuishen]

Hate Huttball with a passion since nobody knows how to fucking work together. The Alderaan map is way more fun imo.

[Kwijiboe]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...px?PageIndex=2

Star Wars: The Old Republic Launch Copies Limited For Retail And Digital

While it's always possible for games to sell out, it's a pretty rare occurrence for major releases, and it's becoming even more unlikely thanks to the advent of digital downloads. Apparently being downloadable won't help BioWare's upcoming MMO, though. Today at a Star Wars: The Old Republic demonstration during Gamescom, EA revealed that they will be purposely limiting the number of copies available at launch, both for retail and digital.

According to the representative speaking at this demo, EA and BioWare made the choice to limit the number of copies of the game available for purchase in order to assure a smooth launch. It's fairly common for popular MMOs to suffer from long wait times and server crashes for the first few months after launch because of the stress put on servers. EA says it would rather make sure the experience is quality for the first gamers to get in than to sell as many copies as possible but ensure a subpar experience for everyone.

The representative said that EA has an exact number set for how many copies will be sold before the publisher turns off digital sales, but they aren't going to share that number. If it is hit, the publisher will be working non-stop to expand its server capabilities as quickly as possible so the game can once again be open to new players. However, the representative was unsure if this would take hours, weeks, or as long as a month.

Star Wars: The Old Republic still has no official release date, but EA seems to be targeting a wider beta sometime in the coming months, which suggests that the final release isn't too far off. The moral of the story? EA wants you to pre-order its game real bad.

I really want this game, but this kind of shit pisses me off. Pisses me off more than when Gamestop staggers their initial shipment to make customers think that games that are just releasingare scarce, and that you should have pre-ordered. (And then they tell you that they will look for another Gamestop to check if that game is in-stock when a Wal-Mart/Target is in the same parking lot)

Launch is going to be slow and a pain in the ass no matter what. They don't need to scare customers into pre-ordering.. and moreover, they will never -not- take pre-orders. Fucking EA man.

[Ohemgee]

Good thing I already pre-ordered because I AM FUCKING EXCITED FOR THE GAME

[Agito]

I have a feeling this game will be another one of those overhyped games that is trash like Rift and all the others before it. The video of eternity vault looks decent but unless that content offers an extreme challenging difficulty that really pushes the boundaries of teamwork like a symphony to be victorious then i don't think it'll be any better than a comic book super hero mmorpg that sucks.

[vrumpt]

I like the sound of all of this

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/08/18/st...ding-required/

Bioware have been showing off Star Wars: The Old Republic’s high level Eternity Vault raid at Gamescom this week. We spoke to them recently about their approach to The Old Republic’s endgame. One theme emerged loud and clear: accessibility.

That means high level players won’t need to go grinding for an extra tier of armour to jump into a raid. It means a rewards system that gives loot to every member of a group. It means raid groups won’t be punished should a player need to leave in the middle of a mission, and boss fights will revolve around intuitive visual cues instead of combat logs and ability icons.

We suggested to Bioware lead designer Gabe Amatangelo that World of Warcraft’s five hour, 25 man raids were too lengthy and complex to attract a mainstream audience.

“We absolutely agree with you on that,” he said “the Operations we have are going to be… the time commitment is light, and is very flexible as to who comes in and out of the raid, or the Ops as it were.”

“The difficulty level is; as soon as you hit max level, the gear that you’re in, you can put a group together, you can go in and you can do Normal mode difficulty and experience these iconic, epic Star Wars moments with your friends as well as people you just met.

“We don’t intend or we don’t expect people to be on Vent and communicating with each other, but we expect them to know how to play their class because if you’ve gotten to Level 50, you know how to play your class. And we want to just make sure that we open it up so that a lot of people can enjoy these epic Star Wars moments.”

The ability to drop in and out of raids is an important part of Star Wars: The Old Republic’s accessible endgame.

“You can slot people in and out easily, there’s no sort of ‘lock-out’ mechanism, so that you can’t have a new person come in. You’ll have progress saved but you can invite new people in at any point in time.”

“If someone’s got to go – it’s no big deal, and it’s accessible to just picking someone else up that’s Level 50,” he continues, “people have kids, people have other commitments, things come up and you can’t sit here and say “OK we’ve got do six hours here and six hours only” that really wouldn’t sit with the population that can enjoy these experiences.

“And another thing on the tip of accessibility is some of these encounters and boss fights. We don’t have – particularly on the Normal mode, where people have to be studying icons. Like say “did this icon appear? Now I’ve got to do this.” or studying sort of ‘combat logs’. We rely a lot more on visual keys and intuitive type things because that is the general broader gaming audience.”

Once players reach the end of a raid, they won’t be relying on a percentage drop chance to see if they’ve earned a reward. Every player will receive their own reward package from which they can pick the loot they need, and every player receives Commendations, a type of currency that can be exchanged for high level rewards once the raid is complete. No player goes home empty handed.

“A bag will drop for every player individually,” says Amatangelo. “Inside the bag everyone individually has their choice, or their chance at different stuff, if you follow what I’m saying… so that we don’t have the drama of “Hey I wanted that” or “Aww they picked Master Looter and the thing’s shut up and I can’t get my stuff.”

“So to make it a little bit clearer, I open that bag and inside I get the ‘Uber Chest Plate’ or you know or I get a couple of Commendations and then once I have ‘x’ number of commendations I can turn it in for the ‘Uber Chest Plate.”

You can read more about The Old Republic’s endgame in our preview in the latest issue of PC Gamer UK, which is in stores and online now. You can also subscribe to save money on the cover price. You’ll scoop a free gaming mouse in the process.

[Ohemgee]

Updated my blog with what I saw in the past few days:


Before I start. I would love to say I love Star Wars (Episodes 4-6). If you have any doubts, please go to Redlettermedia.com and check out the reviews Mike Stoklasa did for the prequels. They really are the greatest movie reviews I've ever seen (as supported by @jeffcanata) for Star Wars. Because in reality, we all felt awkward after watching Episode I, and was hoping that it would get better after that for the remaining of the prequel trilogy (they lied to us).



But moving away from a youthful disappointment, more great news from SWTOR! Pre-orders are out (Deluxe edition already reserved). Gamerscon footage is out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebUMuuS1AZs) and a bunch of other stuff since E3 2011.

Now without really thinking too hard about this, I'm going to make a bold statement. SWTOR will be the greatest MMO period. Why? Yes there is a lot of anticipation and hype for this, and when people display this amount of hype and praise for a single game its bound to disappoint people. But skeptics have to realize and consider everything when they pass judgement on an MMORPG. And yes there's a lot to consider that are cancelled out because its Bioware and Star Wars.



1. I played Star Wars Galaxies, and it was forgettable.

But, I do remember the fact it was Star Wars! It was no FFXI. But it was Star Wars. And the fact that I drive that point is the fact that we all love Star Wars (IV-VI; KotR1&2). The story really drives the dagger in to my heart. FFXI had a comprehendible story. KotoR obviously set the scene to make this relevant, and SWTOR will just use my unsung imagination to paint the canvas of this MMO (so dramatic). But in reality, thinking back to SWG, that game felt like I was playing a game of Connect Four, very systematic and blocky. I never got to Jump to Lightspeed, which apparently made it Star Wars WoW with a broken space system. But really, it wasn't as engaging as I wanted it to be. 2003 may have been a very dark and experimental time in RPG's history, but really, there was a serious lack of everything (but lore!) in SWG. But it drive another point.



2. I freaking love Star Wars! But

I understand how games work. And frankly enough I get really bored of games that try to say they have story, but in reality it makes me mash the continue button as soon as possible (a la Rift and LA Noire, yeah really). Game mechanics are a core issue for MMO's. Over the years with the laurate success of WoW's hotbar, cooldown, spam mechanic, MMO's have shifted to a very simple gameplay. TERA has made attempts to alleviate that (in a really good way, but!) TERA is so Asian that it really doesn't intrigue me. Like, its an anime MMO that's really intriguing to the core, but I can't see myself playing it because its just so damn cheesey looking.

Moving on to a next point; after playing Rift, I can safely say that WoW clones are ok as long as they're engaging. There are only a handful of definitive MMOs that separate themselves from the ancient (2003) times. FFXI, WoW, Warhammer, the korean MMO that began with the letter L and had a sequel, and Everquest. TERA seems to be the only "new" thing that may intrigue people. Lonely white males that masturbate to hentai, or a small asian community that might be FOBs or 2nd generation Asian. But really, Gameplay mechanics at this point only work if I really care about it.

3. That's where Bioware kicks us in the nuts.

Remember KotR? I'm actually replaying it again 8 years after it was released. Why? Because an 8 year old video game that is that damn good deserves it credit. I never really expected myself wanting to replay the story again. But after 20 minutes of watching on Video Game Heaven, I really wanted to figure out how to play it again and just go through it. But in the grand scheme of things, Bioware does shit right. Mass Effect 1 may of been an experiment, but sure as fuck Mass Effect 2 kicked us in the nuts. Why? Rich story telling, engaging game play, and replay ability. All of which are expected to be in SWTOR. Accessibility is stated to be a major part of SWTOR for end game raiding, and I say cool, I got a bunch of other shit to deal with too, but it won't work on a personal level knowing you have to leave on a certain time.

But really, there are a lot of things Bioware has done right that a lot of people are just second guessing their development for. We're all expecting a 10/10 game or something close to perfection. But really, I'll take whatever we get at this point (that's withstand able to a certain standard). They don't want us to grind and emphasis story+grinding at lower levels? Fuck sign me on. They want us to experiment with classes? (I still can't make up my mind! Later topic.) They want to slow down the xp grind? Sure as fuck that sounds hopeful. They want to make KotOR in to an MMO kinda? Bring it on! But how does that stack up to

4. Rift and other MMO's

Look. I played Rift for three months, in which I won't detail why its better/worst than WoW later. I enjoyed it until the whole MMO element came in to play. SWTOR emphasises that you're able to enjoy 1-50 without the burden of heavy companionship with other players. Fine, Rift did that. SWTOR wants users to maybe do raids at lower than end game level with other players, seems easy enough but Rift kinda did that too. But the main thing SWTOR does better than any other MMO out there, save itself in SWG, is its engagement to the story. I don't give a fuck about Promathia in FFXI, or whatever Rift was about (I honestly don't know), or whatever WoW is about. Everyone knows the light and dark side. The hoarde alliance shit takes time to understand and grow in to.

But why engage yourself in a story you already know the answer to? Because thats the whole role playing part that everyone will enjoy you fuck! Think of EVERY good Star Wars moment you've seen (Hint: episodes iv-vi) and then remember playing KotOR. There are a lot of good things going in to this MMORPG without even trying. You can say that FFXI and WoW have been around because of the fact people need shit from certain instances more than story. I say yes, they do, and that's what makes those games work! SWTOR will be the new hope (no pun) to the future of MMOs. Rich story telling, voice acting, cinematic interactive cut scenes with mutltiple people, morality (biggest thing tbh) and the fact they want you to take a long time to get to 50.

5. End game should be just that

There's no need to rush to 50 like in every other MMO. SWTOR should be a game so rich in story that you purposely want to do quests and slow down your XP grind to really understand what the fuck you are doing. I honestly believe that when it comes out, people will bitch about the surface details without truly understanding what the game is all about. Its not about how revolutionary the gameplay is or how in depth the raiding is done (which I give it to them, the fact that they'll need more content soon is hopeful, but its star wars, theres a shit ton of planets and instances they can add anyway.) Its really the fact that, once I hit 50, I've done enough in that game time to really soak up 1-49 to say I'm glad I hit 50. The moment I hit 50 on Rift or 75 on FFXI (pre-cap raise), I was bored. Merit parties and T1/2 dungeon raids were so routine that it drove me to quit sooner than expected.



I'm really looking forward to SWTOR when it comes out. And I really want to keep myself posted as much as possible. But I only pay so much a month for Squarespace.



@trinizclutch

[BadKarma]

I plan on gettin this, is there gonna be an open beta any time soon?

[Kuishen]

There's no need to rush to 50 like in every other MMO. SWTOR should be a game so rich in story that you purposely want to do quests and slow down your XP grind to really understand what the fuck you are doing.

This is the main reason I'm enjoying it. Because 99% of the quests all have cutscenes, I actually care enough to pay attention to the story. Also the datacrons thing gives me incentive to go exploring, which is also a fairly enjoyable experience because it's funny to see what kinda places you can get to when the jump button actually makes your character jump, not just move up and down (which several games are guilty of).

Been playing 4-6 hours a day for 4 days now and only level 18 and just getting to my 3rd planet.

[Guyverarmor]

I would hope so badKarma, or at least for people who purchased the Collector's >.> just saying... lol