Official [H] Star Wars:The Old Republic Thread

The game has lots of subtle KOTOR1 touches. At one point you are doing a Revan-related quest and at the climax literally the music from KOTOR1 starts playing.
 
skytripa said:
Don't think you will be getting in to early if you just pre-ordered. I read somewhere the people that get the full 5 days are those that pre-ordered july21-aug21. From there the days go down but could be wrong
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Nothing like that has been officially confirmed.

The only thing official that has been said, is 5 days of early play for anyone who has preordered.
 
Splinter24 said:
Nothing like that has been officially confirmed.

The only thing official that has been said, is 5 days of early play for anyone who has preordered.
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Up to 5 days. And it would be staggard based upon when you registered your pre-order code. That is what they have stated.
 
If they have lots of KOTOR 1 related things, I hope I'll find HK-47 somewhere, one of my favourite NPCs in any RPG games, along with Sten from Dragon Age 1 :)
 
MorgothPl said:
If they have lots of KOTOR 1 related things, I hope I'll find HK-47 somewhere, one of my favourite NPCs in any RPG games, along with Sten from Dragon Age 1 :)
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A lot of players on the EU server I was on that were at higher levels (past 20 or 30), were finding more and more references to KOTOR 1 and 2. A guy had to jump in and say, "Stop spoiling it goddamn it, not everyone here played KOTOR." :p

I don't think KOTOR should be required to play the game, but for those that did like myself, it's actually really great to see those references. I'm looking forward to seeing Taris.

Some players were speculating that some quests or missions will have us going head-to-head with players on the Dark Side later on. That's going to be an interesting dynamic to the gameplay if that's true. However, some were contradicting them saying that we shouldn't be allowed to change history. Lol.

Who knows? What if one mission we had to stop some Dark Side players, and those on the Light Side lost, but in reality, that didn't happen in the current Star Wars future.
 
After playing the beta, I'm still very excited for launch day! Should be getting in on the 15th, woot.

My one concern is the amount of flashpoints and operations they will have, not just endgame but during the levelling process as well. Once the stuff that is available at launch gets stale, just how long will it take them to bring out new content with all of the voiceover work and such that goes along with it? There are 16 different voice actors (male and female actors for all 8 base classes), and most conversations have 2-3 dialogue interrupts each, and each of those have 3 different choices... that's a lot of stuff to hammer out.

Still though, I'm hopeful and I know Bioware/EA has so much invested in this that they will strive to improve it and keep the paying userbase happy and their wallets fat.
 
I didn't get to take full advantage of the beta due to work. Much too short. Unsure if I want to get it or just resub to wow for MMO shenanigans.

There are pros and cons to both, but as far as companies go...I think I trust blizzard more than EA.
 
I've decided that I'm going to pick this up even though I had mixed reactions to the beta. I initially loved it and then I completely hated it.

I thought about it, and the reason I came to dislike it was because I was thinking like a hardcore player. I wanted all the things that go along with that. The thing is, I'm not a hardcore player anymore. Not even close.

I enjoyed the story, the flashpoint I did, and the dialogue stuff. I prefer single-player these days, but occasionally I want to play online. This should fit the bill very well. I can play through the story and take advantage of the MMO aspects whenever I want. Having some kind of player driven economy at least makes loot and crafting more enjoyable than single-player.

Who cares if it's linear as hell and easy to level? It's hard getting over those things coming from EQ and DAoC. I did play WoW too on and off for a while, but I was only really into it before Burning Crusade. I just have to accept that I'm not the hardcore player I used to be.
 
avatardelta said:
I didn't get to take full advantage of the beta due to work. Much too short. Unsure if I want to get it or just resub to wow for MMO shenanigans.

There are pros and cons to both, but as far as companies go...I think I trust blizzard more than EA.
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After all the Diablo 3 shenanigans? I dunno about that. Granted, it's like choosing between an enema or a stomach pumping, but still.
 
avatardelta said:
There are pros and cons to both, but as far as companies go...I think I trust blizzard more than EA.
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Make sure you compare the right companies. Blizzard is a developer. EA is a publisher. Compare Bioware to Blizzard if you must.
 
Archer75 said:
Make sure you compare the right companies. Blizzard is a developer. EA is a publisher. Compare Bioware to Blizzard if you must.
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EA is a developer and publisher, and I'm sure we're all aware by now that BioWare is under EA's management.
 
Archer75 said:
They are A developer. They are not SWTOR's developer. There is a difference.
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Your original post said they were a publisher, I was just saying they do both. But now that I researched it a little, I found this:

More details:
Player Type: Online multiplayer
Genre: MMORPG
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: December 20, 2011
Brand: Star Wars
Developers: BioWare and Electronic Arts
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Source: http://buy.swtor.com/us/
 
Correct. EA owns bioware. Same as Activision owns Blizzard.

Bioware was developing SWTOR before EA bought them. And after EA bought them they kept them as a seperate division rather than roll them into the parent company. That doesn't mean EA is developing SWTOR any more than it means Activision is developing WoW. Sure they can have input but more likely as a corporate entity. Management of the internal day to day operations of EA Bioware is still handled by Bioware.

If anything Bioware is more accountable to lucasarts on this project than EA.

I think the only move EA has made directly to Bioware's development efforts were to give them people from EA Mythic to help them(and a boat load of cash). And gave management of EA Mythic to one of the Bioware guys.
 
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I got to lvl 27 on this last test weekend, made it to Tatooine which felt a little bigger then previous zones maybe because it was more open. Balmorra was probably my favorite planet because there was ship pieces all over the place and it had a war atmosphere.

I did most of the available space combat missions which play like a console game to where your on a set path. I found all the current space missions to be rather easy. Don't think I died once might of failed at a mission but never died. I hope they add more openness to it in later missions or for space pvp if there will be such a thing. In swg it was a whole new different game.

It's sad swg is closing this year it had so much roleplay to it with all the customization in housing you could do and how you could build your own player city.
 
shiznit said:
Vivendi, the parent company of Blizzard, owns 51% of Activision. WoW bought Activision.
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Actually we are both wrong.

Activision merged with Vivendi. Technically Vivendi owns a 52% stake in activision. The head of activision moved on to become the CEO of Activision Blizzard.

So, no, WoW(aka blizzard) did not buy Activision. WoW's parent company(Vivendi) merged to create a larger company.

Activision and Blizzard still exist as seperate entities under the new parent company. With Activision in charge of Vivendi's former divisions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activision_Blizzard

And the info on bioware and EA's relationship. In essence, the Bioware founders are in charge of EA's RPG/MMO division.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioWare
 
Archer75 said:
Actually we are both wrong.

Activision merged with Vivendi. Technically Vivendi owns a 52% stake in activision. The head of activision moved on to become the CEO of Activision Blizzard.

So, no, WoW(aka blizzard) did not buy Activision. WoW's parent company(Vivendi) merged to create a larger company.

Activision and Blizzard still exist as seperate entities under the new parent company. With Activision in charge of Vivendi's former divisions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activision_Blizzard

And the info on bioware and EA's relationship. In essence, the Bioware founders are in charge of EA's RPG/MMO division.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioWare
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You got me on the 52%, but you can't deny that WoW money helped finance the purchase of a controlling stake in Activision.
 
big_aug said:
I think the thing that really shocked me the most is how much of a blatant copy of WoW it is. I know people had been saying it, but I didn't really get it until I saw it for myself. And yes, WoW copied things from previous games, but this is something completely different. The map, the travel system, the skill trees, the menus, etc are all basically directly from WoW.

That's what some people want, including myself in some respects, but come on...
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all MMO have copied previous good stuff, MUD then everquest, then other MMO copied those, and then WoW ruined the game industry due to the themepark setting.
due to its success, any other game will likely copy it due to the development cycle is so long, swtor started what 2006?

to be harder and geared towards a different crowd requires guts and a good ideas.
I hope they add/have hard to do flashpoints/heroic that absoutly reqiures good teamwork.
if so it will do well.

storyline is pretty good.
 
shiznit said:
You got me on the 52%, but you can't deny that WoW money helped finance the purchase of a controlling stake in Activision.
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Well it's not really Blizzards money. It's vivendi's money. Since blizzard is owned by vivendi their money is their parent companies money. I'm sure the money they made from WoW along with Vivendi's other companies was used in the merger.
But either way, they put a activision guy in charge of the new company.
 
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Archer75 said:
Well it's not really Blizzards money. It's vivendi's money. Since blizzard is owned by vivendi their money is their parent companies money. I'm sure the money they made from WoW along with Vivendi's other companies was used in the merger.
But either way, they put a activision guy in charge of the new company.
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True, but they can remove the guy if they want.

Anyway before I get even more OT, did any one notice the the -vert FOV in this game and has anyone found a fix? That was one of the things WoW eventually got right.
 
chineseman said:
Interesting watch, I'm glad someone has the balls to say what many of us are thinking.

http://www.gamepro.com/video/previews/159643/video-preview-star-wars-the-old-republic/
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I agree with the chick with the glasses about the group cutscenes. When you all take turns talking, it seems more alive. I really did enjoy the flashpoints.

I thought that was a great video with a lot of different perspectives. They all seemed like they really wanted to like the game a lot, but it just isn't quite there yet.
 
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The funniest part is reading all the fanboys' comments about it over on the official forums...

It's wierd how hundreds of us can watch the same video and come to hundreds of different conclusions. I didn't think they were being negative at all. Maybe critical, but not negative. If anything, they all expressed positive views except for the one older guy.

The only reason I'm debating getting the game at launch is because I think it'll be $30 within a month afterwards.
 
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big_aug said:
The funniest part is reading all the fanboys' comments about it over on the official forums...

It's wierd how hundreds of us can watch the same video and come to hundreds of different conclusions. I didn't think they were being negative at all. Maybe critical, but not negative. If anything, they all expressed positive views except for the one older guy.
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Yeah, the old guy who couldn't even look at the camera... bit strange.
 
chineseman said:
Interesting watch, I'm glad someone has the balls to say what many of us are thinking.

http://www.gamepro.com/video/previews/159643/video-preview-star-wars-the-old-republic/
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The British guy's comments mirror everything about my experience with SWTOR. It feels like a 2004 MMORPG in 2011. It's a competent MMORPG, but the voice acting alone doesn't help to elevate the experience beyond that (at least not for me). We've had voiced characters in games for a while now, and while it can add to the experience, I don't feel it's essential to what makes a game enjoyable. I could easily play something like Skyrim without any of the voice acting and still enjoy playing it. However, remove it in SWTOR and you're left with the same old MMORPG mechanics that have been stale for years now (and I suppose you also have the storylines, but out of the three characters I played none were compelling enough to hook me).
 
Curious_George said:
The British guy's comments mirror everything about my experience with SWTOR. It feels like a 2004 MMORPG in 2011. It's a competent MMORPG, but the voice acting alone doesn't help to elevate the experience beyond that (at least not for me). We've had voiced characters in games for a while now, and while it can add to the experience, I don't feel it's essential to what makes a game enjoyable. I could easily play something like Skyrim without any of the voice acting and still enjoy playing it. However, remove it in SWTOR and you're left with the same old MMORPG mechanics that have been stale for years now (and I suppose you also have the storylines, but out of the three characters I played none were compelling enough to hook me).
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Well if you want to play something different you will be wanting for a long time. Many of the mmorpgs that tried doing different are either dead, dying, or niche like EVE.
 
Commenting about that interview video: Its almost all negative criticism, most of which I disagree with. So many people complain that its exactly the same as WoW, but in the exact same breath they complain about the aspects that are different than WoW! Do these people even think about these things before they speak?
 
I've had full beta access for about 6 or 7 months now.. coming from someone whose only MMO experience is 1 month of Anarchy Online, I'm enthralled with SWTOR. I couldn't care less about the WoW comparisons, which is compounded by the fact that there's someone blabbering about WoW in gen chat every 30 seconds. At the same time I think my lack of MMO experience allows me to be a bit more objective about the gameplay; a fresh pair of eyes, if you will. I'm not constantly measuring it up to WoW. I'm just having fun. I enjoy the story elements, the pacing (generally), the combat (hate space combat), crafting, and the cut scenes. I treat SWTOR more as a massively cooperative online RPG.

I can't wait to dig into this game in December once all my friends are on it.
 
RedTalon19 said:
Commenting about that interview video: Its almost all negative criticism, most of which I disagree with. So many people complain that its exactly the same as WoW, but in the exact same breath they complain about the aspects that are different than WoW! Do these people even think about these things before they speak?
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No, I complain that it's trying to be WoW but is generally inferior in terms of mechanics and design. It's got the voice acting and story quests over WoW, but pretty in pretty much every other area, it is in WoW's shadow.

Teenk9 said:
Well if you want to play something different you will be wanting for a long time. Many of the mmorpgs that tried doing different are either dead, dying, or niche like EVE.
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Hopefully we'll only be waiting until Guild Wars 2 comes out some time next year. That game impresses me with its preview videos. SWTOR has looked mediocre for months.
 
Only played it for one weekend, but it's the first MMO that has actually managed to make me give a crap about my character. Beta played like a demo. Haven't ever personally played an MMO that will (likely) be as polished as this on release (pvp balance notwithstanding, of course).
 
As a 14 year veteran of MMOs, I have to say that TOR is fairly passable. It's not groundbreaking, but neither was EverQuest, or World of Warcraft. EverQuest was just 3D graphics strapped on top of a generic MUD framework, yet it absorbed tons of my time. World of Warcraft took EverQuest's raid or die model, and added a more casual progression curve and added quests to mask the grind. Again, it sucked away much of my free time.

TOR sort of continues on from what WoW started. It adds another layer to attempt to mask the grindy nature of MMOs and one-ups WoW in the IP popularity contest. They also have great timing, releasing right in the dead zone between WoW expansions, and right after WoW has peaked and begun hemorrhaging subscribers, not to the competition, but to boredom. They'll retain a lot more of the WoW refugees than Rift ever did. If they have a solid launch and keep the content flowing, I think they'll probably stabilize around 1.5 to 2 million subs.

Of course, I always have to laugh at the general attitude about MMOs around here. "Hay guise, I played TOR over the weekend, and it turns out it's an MMO. This sucks!"

We get it, you don't like MMOs. That's cool and all, but there are millions of people who do. I don't play Brosephfield 3 or Call of Dude: Modern Brofare, but it turns out there are millions of people who like generic military shooters, even though every single one has the same set of weapons and the same raspberry jam smeared all over your screen.

Time will tell if this game is ultimately successful, but I have to wonder...

Why is it that apparently, MMOs need to change to appeal to people who don't currently like MMOs, but when one of YOUR favored genres falls into the trap of consolization for mass appeal, you guys sound like you're about to go #OccupyActivision?
 
took a week off from work, got 10days overall off for the Early access weekend!

Bring it on! (not to mention the damn game releases on my bday!)
 
xSystemFailurex said:
Only played it for one weekend, but it's the first MMO that has actually managed to make me give a crap about my character. Beta played like a demo. Haven't ever personally played an MMO that will (likely) be as polished as this on release (pvp balance notwithstanding, of course).
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Same here. Stole this from a guy named Sargun from another post because I couldn't say it better.

"Choices DO matter, even outside the quests themselves. A Sith warrior, weak, confronted me outside of my master's office. He wanted my quest items to turn in himself so he could be promoted; I could have killed him easily but instead I gave him the items, did the quest again, and then came back. My master, being the omnipresent douche that he is, knew of my compassion. I had the option of killing the weak sith or showing compassion again, and I reasoned that the directive "any means necessary" includes asking for help. The man did not die, but instead was set to work the prisons. A few quests later, I learned the guy did not show up for work and continued to vouch for him. A few quests later, I was ambushed by a rival - and the man I spared and vouched for threw himself in my way and died for me.."

My sith on the other hand killed the guy for being weak. Seeing things like this is going to make me think more about what my character is doing because the choices will have an actual effect on the story. I love that. I haven't played another mmo that did that. I never really felt my choices in wow for example every really had an effect on the story. They might not have an effect on the overall story in the swtor verse but they do effect my characters personal story which is fine by me.
 
chineseman said:
Interesting watch, I'm glad someone has the balls to say what many of us are thinking.

http://www.gamepro.com/video/previews/159643/video-preview-star-wars-the-old-republic/
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No wonder Gamepro is being shut down. :p

Seriously, I'm not sure what the reviewers were wanting. In one instance they say they want innovation and new features, then in the next they say all they want to do is skip said feature (dialog). I find this very interesting because the overriding tone is they don't like the game because it plays too much like WoW. Yet this one feature that they don't like makes it nothing like WoW. I also found the one comment that you don't level up fast enough, when most everyone is complaining that you level up too fast. I get the distinct impression that they have a multi-year investment in WoW and they are afraid to leave it behind.
 
DASHlT said:
took a week off from work, got 10days overall off for the Early access weekend!

Bring it on! (not to mention the damn game releases on my bday!)
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Took a couple days of myself hoping to be in the 5 day early start of the 15th I believe we will know within a week with our start dates!
 
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