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Leaked beta footage: it starts

May 15, 2011 by

Thanks to regular podcast listener and reader Gail, who’s pointed out what I think is one of the larger leaks of SWTOR footage from the beta program to date.  Coming in at around two hours it shows a hell of a lot of the game. I can imagine Bioware are far from impressed and you can’t blame them. That said, what the leaked footage does show is a game that’s looking pretty damn good. My main concern over the leak is that it can make people more likely to lock down information even tighter. As we’ve discussed on the podcast a couple of times, we’re keen for a broad public beta and events like this don’t help that case too much.

The alternate approach that could be taken is using the footage as a platform on which Bioware says “Hey, we told you it’s going to be a great game and you can see it for yourself, but there’s even better to come yet!”. It’s not a natural stance for any company however, particularly given it’s based on a breach of trust. Having watched the footage, it backs up the extensive reports from the Fansite summit that it’s a game with huge potential.

Leaks on their own aren’t surprising, although breaching an NDA is no light matter, which is why you won’t see a screenshot from the footage or a direct link to the offending footage. We still believe it’s worth reporting though as it’s a milestone a lot of MMOs face and it’s just another indication on how close this game is getting.

The original story is over at (Link removed at request of Bioware), but be warned it does contain a link to the footage in question. If it’s there for more than 24 hours I’ll be surprised although it’s now archived elsewhere according to the story.

Filed Under: News, Opinion Tagged With: ,

Sith Inquisitor details: it’s about lightning

May 14, 2011 by

Darksiders and fans of black cloaks rejoice: your Sith Inquisitor update is here. Today Bioware released a new class video showing off all the lightning powers a Darth Sidious fan could hope for. The SI also got a revamped class page on the Holonet, a detailed page about their ship “The Fury”, and their first companion character , a Dashade named Khem Val.

The new class video starts out on Korriban with a Zabrak Inquisitor walking through what looks to be some sort of base, possibly an academy, talking about the power of the darkside as she lays waste to two Sith infront of her, making quick work of the two with visually exciting lightning powers. If you’re going to be playing Star Wars: The Old Republic then you most likely have seen all of of the Star Wars films. Force lightning is a power used by the Sith and Dark Jedi, but the Inquisitor seems to have so much more.

In the class video she creates a thunderstorm in a room full of troopers, sucks the life force out of some Geonosians, and surrounds herself with a force bubble (probably not the official name). In several scenes (only when not in a complete cinematic view) the Zabrak has black smoke moving about her, which leads me to believe it could possibly some sort of a sustained buff, better crit, better chance to hit, etc.  It’s not hard to tell that Force Lightning is a large part of being an Inquisitor. It’s used for damage, sustained crowd control and fire and forget styled crowd control. The Inquisitor is beginning to look like a rogue with a lot more options. They have the ability to stealth, but also have AoE and shielding abilities (force bubble). The Inquisitor can literally do it all from tanking to healing, crowd control to damage dealing, but the real question is will he be a jack of all trades, but a master of none?

I honestly think as a community the Inquisitors and Consular will have some of the hardest builds and strategies to master because they are so diverse, but once you’ve got it down they’ll be hard to handle in PvE or PvP. Be sure to watch the whole video on SWTOR’s official site.

The Fury-Class Imperial Interceptor is the most versatile ship in the Imperial Fleet. It has the agility of a fighter with the fire power that rivals vessels much larger than itself. I would have to say it’s a really cool design. It looks like a giant TIE Interceptor and that’s not a bad thing. It definitely  looks the part of a Sith ship and the short video of it’s internal compartments, which you can see here, makes it look as roomy as all the other ships you’ve seen so far. Honestly the Fury has been my favorite ship since the first time I saw it, because to me it looks like what Star Wars should look like.

The Inquisitor’s update also came with a bio for a Dashade named Khem Val. A Dashade looks a lot like if Predator and Goro had a child – pretty brutal right? This is a small exert from Khem Val’s bio on the Holonet

His people, the Dashade, thrived. A powerful species of Force-resistant killers, they drew strength from feeding on Jedi and Sith alike. Khem Val was called Shadow Killer and Devourer.” – the Holonet

Though his bio doesn’t give any specifics about what type of combat he will excel at, I’m pretty sure I saw a picture of him with a gnarly looking Vibro-blade on the internet somewhere, and when combined with his large stature, it should bring Khem Val to the top of meat shield companions that we’ve seen. Be sure to check out Khem Val’s full bio here – it’s short but pretty interesting.

So another Friday down, another day closer, to Star Wars: The Old Republic.

May the Force be with you.

 

 

Filed Under: News

Exploring Star Wars: The Old Republic – datacron fun

May 7, 2011 by

The Friday update from Bioware this week features a rather interesting run-down on the SWTOR codex. It’s a common game feature and in the case of SWTOR Lead Designer Damion Schubert states its purpose is “to not only elaborate on the settings you fight in and the creatures you kill, but also to plant seeds of knowledge relating to key personages and concepts from your class story and long-lost lore meant to give more feedback at large”.

In the update Schubert goes on to describe how the codex will provide information ‘for free’ but that there’ll be a whole much more that needs to be learnt – it seems like a pretty good approach to me as an achievement junkie. Which leads to the next part of the update that interested me the most: exploring SWTOR.

As we discussed in our last podcast, datacrons are the reward for exploring the less well trodden paths of SWTOR. Find a datacron and you get a permanent stats increase. It’s a mini-game that’s going to appeal to people like me who like the more sedate aspects of MMOs (yes, I’m a WoW fishing addict and proud of it). It’s a superior approach in my opinion in that exploration is being rewarded with something substantive.

There’s already some rumblings however about how it puts some people at a disadvantage. I find it hard to be sympathetic on that one as the only people ‘disadvantaged’ will be the hardcore end content players not wanting to spend time exploring. Will those of us exploring be likely to be handing those people their heads on a platter in PvP? I somehow think not. So for mine, kudos to Bioware for a well thought out approach.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , ,

Flash Point 5: The Summit of the Baby Press

May 1, 2011 by

Episode 5 is a bit of a special one for us as we have Jeff from Tor Wars as a guest co-host, fresh from his attendance at the Fansite Summit. He gives some fascinating insights on the Summit and we thank him profusely for getting up so early to take part.

Points of discussion:

– The fansite summit
– Sith warrior progression
– SWTOR user interface
– Removal of the off-topic forums and profile visitor messages on the official forums
– The Ars Technica review of SWTOR and the tunneling effect

Listen via iTunes or right here:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:01 — 65.9MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Filed Under: News, Podcast Tagged With: , , , ,

Sith Warrior progression

April 30, 2011 by

The Sith Warrior Progression video was released today and shared a lot in common with the Jedi Knight progression video we saw a few weeks ago.

The video starts with the base Sith Warrior class running through what looks like some old Sith temple on Korriban beating down some foes with a training saber. The video then cuts to the Sith Warrior on the holonet screen with his armor changing from a gray imperial looking suit to a red one with larger shoulder pads and a red lightsaber.  After dispatching a couple of what look to be troopers with his saber, a Bounty Hunter lands and is immediately force choked. The screen cuts back to the Holonet style and follows a line that rises above the Sith Warrior and splits.

The next class shown is the Sith Marauder whose robes resemble a cross between Vader and Maul and is wielding dual  red lightsabers. The Sith Marauder seemed to block a lot more blaster bolts than his counterpart the Jedi Sentinel.  After dispatching two soldiers and a combat droid, the video cuts back and the Marauder’s armor changes a second time. The second set of armor is very menacing with spiked shoulders, a skull looking mask, and larger knee pads. The video picks back up with the Marauder running at a group of enemies when he suddenly vanishes using the Marauder’s recently revealed cloaking skill, then appearing behind one of the enemies and killing it. The Marauder then uses an unknown stun, kills the unaffected opponent then uses another unknown ability that looks like a self-buff that involves the lightsabers charging – probably a damage buff. Then after engaging the last standing opponent, he uses another unknown ability that has red smoke coming out of his lightsaber’s blades then strikes his foe down.

The video then cuts back to the Armor Progression screen and zooms into the Sith Juggernaut, whose armor looks very inspired by Vader. The Juggernaut runs headlong at two large mechs, blocking bolts and disabling both of them. As an assassin droid runs into view in the background and begins firing at the Sith, he turns and force leaps towards the droid, reflecting a blaster bolt off his saber in mid air, then landing and striking the assassin droid down. The second set of armor previewed looks like a mix between Darth Vader and a Bounty Hunter, very brutal. This Juggernaut doesn’t run into combat, but walks menacingly towards his opponent then force pushes him then uses some unknown ability where red smoke and lighting radiate off of the Sith’s body, probably a buff for defense, maybe attack. Three Jedis run into view and the Sith casts another unknown ability, looks like a debuff of some sort. After he casts it, all three of the Jedis have red circles around their heads, but only for a moment. One Jedi, probably a Consular casts some sort of maintained stun in which a stream of rocks pummel the Sith, it ends when the Sith’s companion blasts the Consular and he falls to the ground. The second Jedi is killed with a saber throw and the last is killed with a force leap.

This was a great video with some really cool looking armor – I personally liked the last Juggernaut set. There was something I found weird about this video though. It shows the Marauder blocking much more than the Sentinel did, and the Juggernaut didn’t seem to have a taunt (unless the second unknown ability was a taunt and not a debuff). I really like the masks the Sith wear, it really puts the whole “We’re Evil” on another level. Definitely check out the whole video:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: News, Opinion Tagged With: ,

SWTOR Fansite summit aftermath

April 29, 2011 by

Picture courtesy of TOR Syndicate

The two-day fansite summit has concluded, with those invited receiving some good hands-on time with the game and access to key personnel for Q&A sessions.

Each attendee site has posted an exclusive shot from the game. Here’s a round-up of the best content posted from the sites so far:

1. TOR Syndicate

– video of the Q&A session with SWTOR writers
– audio from three other Q&A sessions

2. Darth Hater

– Q&A audio
– detailed impressions of the Black Talon Flashpoint, Bounty Hunter and Imperial Agent
– pics taken at the summit

3. Torocast

– gameplay impressions
– Black Talon Flashpoint impressions
– Imperial Agent impressions

4. SWTOR Life

– Crew skills Q&A video
– general impressions

5. Ask a Jedi

– Bioware Austin tour
– Videos of Q&A sessions

6. TOR Wars

– Q&A videos
– incriminating photos posts
– live podcast from the summit

7. Corellian Run Radio

– impressions
– interview on forum polls
– Q&A sessions

I’ve no doubt I’ve missed something so feel free to add further links in comments and I’ll update. I’m also hoping to announce the date of the Australia / New Zealand hands-on event soon. Well we can dream can’t we?

From reading and viewing most of the content, the take-home message is that the drip-feed of information has become a trickle now. There’s nothing that screams ‘imminent release’ to me but the stated 2011 timeframe still seems realistic. Join us for Episode 5 of the podcast for lots more discussion of the summit, including (hopefully) a guest who attended the summit.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , ,

Revan novel on the way

April 23, 2011 by

KotOR fans rejoice – as long as you like novels that is. The Friday update this week isn’t a game update or even a developer blog. This week we get info on the third novel set in the Old Republic time line. Titled  Revan, this novel is written by Drew Karpyshyn, Principal Writer at Bioware, and author of the Darth Bane series.  Though Revan is the main protagonist in this novel and will be based off of the Revan who was a Light-sided male Jedi as canon states, it will also reveal who the Sith Emperor is, where he is from, and how he’s held onto power for the length he has. Drew Karpyshyn also does a Q&A over his upcoming novel, I’ll just go through and quote a couple of the more interesting ones.

Q: How does it feel to finally reveal that the title of your latest Star Wars book is Revan?

A: I’d like to start by saying how gratifying it was to work on this book. Knights of the Old Republic™ (KOTOR) was my first creative foray into the Star Wars universe, so writing Revan felt a little bit like I was returning to my roots. I also know a lot of fans have been patiently waiting a long time to find out what happened to Revan after KOTOR — it’s probably the number one question I’m asked on my website. I’m glad the story is finally being told, and I’m ecstatic that I’m the one who gets to tell it.”

Now a lot of people are complaining about not getting game info, but what other game has given us an update every week? No one has. So I’m pretty excited about the book, being a huge Revan fan I’ve always been extremely curious of what happened to the KoTOR hero and this is our chance to learn all about it.

Q: In what ways will readers who have read Revan benefit when playing Star Wars: The Old Republic?

A: I think the novel will give them a much better understanding of the Sith Emperor and the Empire, for one thing. The Old Republic Sith Empire is very different from what people know from the movies, or even from the Great Hyperspace War comics that focus on characters like Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh. The novel will also give them some very direct background and detailed information that ties in directly with key Flashpoints in the game. I can’t say too much, of course, but like any great prequel the books will give you the details of what came before to add an extra layer of depth to the experiences in the game.

If your a total lore hound and have to know all there is to know about the game then this novel might be worth buying, or if you’re just a KotOR fanboy, like myself.

Q: What other characters from Knights of the Old Republic and Knights of the Old Republic II might we expect to see?

A: You can’t tell a story about Revan without also exploring his companions; they were such a key element of the KOTOR experience that it wouldn’t feel right without bringing some of them back. Of course it would be impossible to include all of them in a novel in a way that would make a cohesive and fulfilling story, so I focused on those who felt most directly relevant to what happened to Revan after the KOTOR games. I don’t want to give too much away, but Canderous, T3-M4, the Exile and Bastila Shan all have significant roles to play in the novel (along with some significant characters who appear in Star Wars: The Old Republic).

This one really got me excited just because I’ve always wondered about the opening to KoTOR II why the Ebon Hawk was all banged up, barely still flying only being operated by the small, but determined astromech droid T3-M4.

I can’t wait for this novel. I haven’t read the other two, Deceived and Fatal Alliance, but I just can’t pass up Drew Karpyshyn’s Revan.

Picture courtesy of clarkspark

 

 

Filed Under: Merchandise, News, Opinion Tagged With: , ,

Flash Point 4: Bad wallpaper, the BFG and beta scams

April 17, 2011 by

Points of discussion:

– Dev post on SWTOR’s environments
– Advanced classes
– Fan Friday and why fan fiction seems to miss out
– Beta scams and why stuff isn’t being leaked in bulk from the beta
– A Mass Effect MMO on the cards?
– The ongoing release date debate
– Invite for segment contributions, original music

Listen via iTunes or right here:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:20 — 52.6MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Filed Under: News, Podcast Tagged With:

Community Q&A on character classes in Star Wars: The Old Republic

April 16, 2011 by

Now for the good stuff, the Community Q&A, where you ask the questions and the developers answer. This go round the devs answered over ten questions so I’ll post (in my opinion) the top three then you guys can read them for yourselves on SWTOR’s official website.

Q: Will Bounty Hunters be able to use their jetpacks outside of battle to get around faster or for another way of movement other than walking/jumping? – JornFalm

A: We have no plans currently for jetpacks as a mode of fast travel outside of combat. You’ll have to rely on your personal transportation for that (details to be revealed later!) which offers a much more comfortable ride anyway.

I think this one is EXTREMLY interesting for the fact that a dev confirms personal transportation! Speeder bikes anyone?

Q: Will all classes have a main Companion Character or several different ones? Also, how important will Companion Characters be? – Frozentorch

A: Over the course of the game, your character will meet a number of companions. There are several companion archetypes, each with their own ability set (including, but not limited to medics, ranged damage dealers and tanks). By maximum level, all classes will have one companion of each archetype. Which companion becomes your ‘main companion’ is left to your choice of playstyle and personal preference.

Furthermore, you can customize your companions with kits that add extra abilities such as Grenade Launchers, Flame Throwers, etc. Regardless of which companion you choose to travel with, they will shape how your character approaches combat and will complement your strengths or help make up for your weaknesses.

This question is great for those of you who like to solo. Being a fan of soloing, I love the idea of companions. Being a Tank it will be great being able to always pack a healer around with me, or for you healers imagine being able to constantly have a meat shield to take the heat while you get some soloing in. Or if you feel you’re up for it that extra damage from a DPS companion would be nice. Companions are one of the things that sets this MMO apart from all others, and I have a feeling its going to be a great addition to the MMO formula.

Q: Will both skill sets in a particular Advanced Class require the same set of stats, thereby enabling a Sawbones-spec Scoundrel to respec to a Scrapper-spec without having to carry a second Scrapper-specific set of gear to function at optimal capacity? – Finalcaliber

A: If changing skill distribution also involves a role change for the character (such as from damage focused to medic), chances are you will need to obtain a new set of equipment to go along with the change in gameplay experience. If no role change is involved (e.g. changing skills within the Gunslinger Advanced Class), you are likely able to reuse most if not all of your equipment.

This question and it’s answer pertain more towards end-game and PvP, but what I got from it was you will be able to re-roll your stats later in the game. So take a tank build – a Guardian can in-turn swap out his stats and skills to become a single saber damage dealer or a hybrid of the two to make a PvP build or go back to pure tank for endgame raids.

As always this is Alec “Dekin” Bailey signing off, and may the Force be with you!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Community, News Tagged With: , ,

It’s about polish: environments in SWTOR

April 16, 2011 by

This week Star Wars: The Old Republic gives us a Studio Insider: Environment Polish with Senior Environment Artist Robby Lamb. Also included in the update is a very nice Community Q&A. Lamb starts with talking about how important polish is to a game especially a MMO, and how it can turn a great game into an exceptional one. Polishing is pretty much the process of re-working and tweaking of something the design team or programmers have already made for the game, such as lighting, walls, floor, or anything that needs a touch up.

Every member of the development team polishes the game in a different way. For example, programmers will optimize code which helps in various ways, such as the frame rate and the lighting engine. While improving the game, those code optimizations can also help the other developers who are using game development tools; this gives designers the chance to polish game play. Artists like myself have the opportunity to revisit areas to re-work assets, adjust lighting or just ensure an area feels true enough to our story.

Lamb goes on to tell us about how environment in MMOs can go unnoticed, until something is wrong or seems out of place then it becomes an eyesore for players. Lamb uses walls in The Old Republic as an example of this. Some of you might think walls would be easy to create, eh? Well apparently they are not. Walls under go a lot of polish turning from basic walls with simple texture to being reworked several times to help tell the visual story of the game. Sometimes the walls need to be made to look more high tech or or more detailed than the standard panel style wall. Another form of polishing that Robby Lamb works with is re-lighting and dding of props to an area, all of which go back to the helping of the visual story. The original process begins with a description of a room or place, given by the writers and game designers, Lamb uses a computer lab as an example. The computer lab will begin it’s existence in the most simple form likely a room full of computers, desks, possibly book shelves, and a few NPCs.  Lamb gives a great description of how it can change, he says “However later in development a more detailed description may evolve – describing this area as a computer lab, locked from the outside, with a hacker trapped inside who is enslaved to the Empire. Based on this description we will go back into an area and address it by either building new or reusing more appropriate assets to fit the scene, relighting the area, as well as adjusting the environment settings such as fog depth or color.”

Finally, Lamb goes over one of the more important parts of environmental polish: game performance. Most people wouldn’t associate the two but really you gotta remember that your machine has to load everything from other players’ character models, NPCs, the environment, and the lighting. So after all the visual polish is done in an area the team then checks how many lights and assets are on screen and how much memory the level uses as a whole to help keep the almighty frame rate up.

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: ,

The Lego Sand Crawler from Heaven

April 13, 2011 by

To me, the combination of Star Wars and Lego is about as good as it gets. Add to that some outright dedication and innovation and you have what you see pictured – one almighty big Sand Crawler.

Check out all the pics for yourself and then dream of owning one.

[via Bit Rebels]

Filed Under: News Tagged With: ,

Star Wars: The Old Republic – advanced classes update

April 9, 2011 by

This week Greog Zoeller, the Principal Lead Combat Designer for Star Wars: The Old Republic,  takes us through how the advanced classes game system has changed in the last few months based on iteration, game testing, and focus groups.

In Zoellers previous blog he introduced us to the advanced classes game system –  if you didn’t read it it can be found here.  Advanced Classes (AC) are obtainable on your home planet once your charcter reaches level 10, each main class has two distinct ACs to choose from that will define your role in parties from that moment on.

I’ll go into more detail on what each classes ACs are and what changes have been brought about a little later in the review. Each AC unlocks two exclusive skill trees then a third which is shared by both ACs( pretty much universal powers for that class.)A characters ability points can be allocated in three ways: through base class trainers, advanced class trainers, and through skill points spent in the advanced class skill trees.

Each skill tree allows access to both active and passive abilities. Active abilities are those that can be hot keyed and used in battle when needed and passive abilities are always working – once a point goes into it that ability is always on.

“It is important to note that the choices you make in your skill tree never subtract from your base class abilities; they instead improve and add to the character’s arsenal.”- Zoeller

Zoeller also goes into some of the differences you’ll get in your ACs within the same base class. Say you go with the Sith Warrior – your choices for ACs will be Juggernaut (Tank or Melee Damage) or Marauder (Melee Damage). One choice the Juggernaut can make is to learn Force Grip, an upgraded version of Force Choke, which takes away the need for the choke to be channeled, so instead of standing with his hand out stretched like Vader, the Sith Warrior can cast Force Grip and then move on to another enemy while the one being choked takes damage and is immobilised. The Marauder on the other hand can choose to learn Close Quarters, an  ability that allows the Marauder to use his Force Charge at any range so instead of just using it to close the distance at the opening of the fight , he can now leap from enemy to enemy on the battlefield dealing damage where it’s most needed at that time.

“As well as these two Advanced Class-specific skill trees, both the Juggernaut and the Marauder have access to the shared ‘Rage’ skill tree. Abilities in this skill tree improve the control, mobility and burst damage capability of characters who invest into it – all traits desirable to both the Marauder and the Juggernaut.”-Zoeller

The next part of Zoeller’s blog goes into what has changed in the ACs through the input of the game testers. I highly recommend reading this in full on SWTOR’s site Here! I will go into it a little bit, but it’s just too much information for me to cover every bit of what has changed, so I’ll list each base class along with it’s AC and it’s general role, and any major changes you should definitely see.

Bounty Hunter

Mercenary (Mid-Long Range Damage Dealing, Healing)

Healing is part of the “Bodyguard” Skill Tree for the Mercenary

PowerTech (Mid Range Damage Dealing, Tanking)

Imperial Agent

Sniper (Mid-Long Range Damage Dealer)

Sniper was reworked to be more viable in PvP, the AC got two new skills one allowing him to be entrenched in his cover so he cannot be knocked out of it, and Cover Pulse allowing him a knock back ability to keep melee players at range.

Operative (Close-Mid Damage Dealing, Healing)

Jedi Knight

Jedi Guardian ( Close Range Melee Damage Dealer, Tanking)

Based on the feedback from SWTOR community they added single saber DPS on one the Guardian AC skill trees, before it was a pure tank class.

Jedi Sentinel (Close Range Melee Damage Dealer)

Jedi Consular

Jedi Shadow (Close-Mid Range Damage Dealer, Tanking)

The Shadow AC got a new Skill tree that allows them to become an effective tank.

Jedi Sage (Mid-Long Range Damage Dealer, Healing)

Smuggler

Gunslinger (Mid-Long Range Damage Dealer)

Scoundrel (Mid Range damage dealing, Healing)

Sith inquisitor

Sith Assassin (Close-Mid Range Damage Dealer, Tanking)

The Sith Assassin much like the Jedi Shadow now has a Force and defensive lightsaber Tanking class.

Sith Sorcerer (Mid-Long Range Damage Dealer, Healing)

Sith Warrior

Sith Juggernaut (Close Range Damage Dealer, Tanking)

Similar to the Guardian the Juggernaut has gained access to a single saber DPS skill tree.

Sith Marauder (Close Range Damage Dealer)

The Marauder gained a short term cloak among other updates to this AC.

Trooper

Commando (Mid-Long Range Damage Dealing, Healing)

The Commando, much like the Mercenary gained a healing focused skill tree, making the Commando a completely viable medic.

Vanguard (Close Mid Range Damage Dealing, Ranged Tanking)

Be sure to check out the full update on SWTOR’s Official Site, Lots of great info.

May the Force be with you!

 

Filed Under: News
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