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The Casual SWTORian: Staggered Global Release

April 30, 2012 by

The Casual SWTORian is dedicated each week to those who don’t have the time to immerse themselves in game developments but instead want a very simple roundup of things happening and stuff on the horizon. If you like what you read, tell our casual guru Ken.

Do you live in a part of Europe or the Middle East that doesn’t have SWTOR? if so then check this link. Otherwise you came here for one reason. One simple reason. To read up on The Casual SWTORian. Bioware shot out the Q&A, more info on the staggered global release, and the server transfers happened. And without further intro, the gold:

Trietxan: Is there a plan to make social armor adjustable to armor rating? For example, I would really like to dress my Powertech in the Imperial Trooper armor without losing the heavy armor rating.

Daniel: Yes, adaptable social gear that automatically changes to your character’s gear type is coming in Game Update 1.3.

wyllam: I love the new armor color “unify” feature. Will this option (as well as “hide head armor”) ever be available for companions?

Daniel: Definitely in the plans for the future.

JimG: Is there any sort of ETA on adding completely new playable species into the game such as Togruta, Mon Calamari, Nautolan, etc.?

Daniel: Can’t comment on what species you might see, but you can expect the roster of playable species to expand… this year.

Zannis: Any chance on allowing companions to show in the Operation frame? As a healer, I do a lot of questing with a friend, and I’m unable to replace Party Frames with the Operations Frame since we can’t see our party member’s companions with this option turned on.

Damion Schubert (Principal Lead Systems Designer): Funny, we were just talking about this the other day. I’m working on the design now, but have no ETA of when this will get to you.

Capthxc: Any plans to improve your achievement system and/or codex? Right now achievements don’t seem to serve any purpose.

Damion: We have big plans. Too big to share prematurely.

 

And there it is, one SWTORian for you to digest. As always, If you feel I missed anything feel free to comment below or you can start a religious debate – your choice.

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The Casual SWTORian: Post Patch 1.2

April 24, 2012 by

The Casual SWTORian is dedicated each week to those who don’t have the time to immerse themselves in game developments but instead want a very simple roundup of things happening and stuff on the horizon. If you like what you read, tell our casual guru Ken.

With the Asia-Pacific Server Transfer Details Released and the SWTOR.com website receiving a facelift some could be deceived into thinking Bioware had delivered all they could this week. But ye be wrong. They also threw at us, like a giant brick, the mostly weekly Q&A and a page telling us they redesigned the website. And so I give you, your gold:

Keldain: Love the stuff for 1.2! I think you guys are doing a great job on addressing the issues of the community. Just one thing I would really like an update on: is there any movement on getting an option to toggle hoods on and off?

Damion Schubert: (Principal Lead Systems Designer):This is totally in the plan, but we are unsure at this time when it will get to you.

 

Pierre-olivier: Will it be possible to create a guild uniform or get a distinctive sign. I mean other than the name displayed above the character?

Damion: At some point, this will be possible. No ETA yet, but we have a design fleshed out.

 

TheCritter: If I delete a character with Legacy unlocks do I lose those unlocks? For example, if I have a human female Sniper at level 50 with Act 3 completed will I lose the race unlock, Heroic Ability, and class emote for my other characters if I delete her?

Damion: You will keep all unlocks that you have managed to unlock so far.

 

This week I would like to give a shout out to the National Transport and Toy Museum in New Zealand and to the TOROZ podcast. As always, If you feel I missed anything feel free to comment below or you can start a religious debate – your choice.

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The Casual SWTORian: Patch 1.2 Release Overview

April 16, 2012 by

The Casual SWTORian is dedicated each week to those who don’t have the time to immerse themselves in game developments but instead want a very simple roundup of things happening and stuff on the horizon. If you like what you read, tell our casual guru Ken.

Over the past few weeks Bioware have been promoting the 1.2 patch and the legacy system, telling us we would know well in advance when they would drop. However, this week with almost no warning we received the Jesus patch. Other things of smaller note are the free pet, potential free game time, and the skipping of the weekly Q&A. And so, we begin:

“The galaxy is in turmoil. War rages across countless worlds as Republic and Imperial forces struggle for control of critical resources. Amidst the chaos, threats emerge from all sides. The planet Denova, known for its extensive deposits of baradium ore, has been seized by a band of mercenaries and veteran Imperial defectors with mysterious motives. If they are not dislodged, the explosive arsenal they can create will give them the power to destroy any armed force – Republic or Imperial. On Corellia, a corrupt councilor attempts to maximize hypermatter profits by playing both sides of the conflict, and the crazed mastermind behind the Rakghoul outbreak, discovered on Ord Mantell, continues to threaten the lives of all sentient beings in the galaxy…”

  • Players can now unlock a wide variety of rewards by leveling characters and reaching new Legacy levels, including buffs for your characters, unlocking additional Species choices for every class, and upgrades for your personal Starship. Build your own Legacy with the new Family Tree!

  • Guilds now have access to a shared Guild Bank, accessible on the Fleets, with expandable storage.

  • Players can now customize their User Interface by moving and resizing UI elements!

  • The Imperial Transportation Authority and the Galactic Republic Safety Council have authorized the use of vehicles in Orbital Space Stations and Spaceports.

  • A new “Customize” option now appears on the character sheet. One of the features this button enables is the ability to color coordinate any individual piece of armor with the equipped chestpiece.

  • The Sprint ability is now available at level 1.

  • Since our changes involve a number of skill changes for many classes, we are refunding all skill points to the affected Advanced Classes so players can adjust the distribution of their characters’ skills as they see fit with the new changes in mind. As a reminder, players can reset any character’s skill points in the Combat area on their faction’s fleet for free once per week (additional respecs cost credits).

  • The cooldown associated with giving companions gifts has been removed. Giving a gift now has a 3-second activation time.

  • C2-N2 and 2V-R8 have been reprimanded and now vocalize less frequently on personal starships.

  • Companions now use accurate voice responses regarding the success or failure of their Crew Missions when they return.

  • Schematics for color crystals in various colors (including endgame-quality varieties) have been added to the game.

  • Several unusual crystal formations have been reported in the mountainous regions of Alderaan.

  • Offhand weapons are now more clearly marked as such.

  • Sniper Rifles no longer drop for Republic players.

  • An issue that caused some items to be unlinkable in chat has been addressed.

  • A set of modifiable Techblades and Techstaffs has been added to the game.

  • The Korrealis line of landspeeders has been removed from vendors.

  • License costs for Vehicle Piloting rank 1, 2, and 3 have been reduced.

  • Junk (grey) items no longer appear in the buyback window.

  • The chances for one player to win the majority of rolls in Multiplayer Conversations have been diminished.

  • Several missions that require the player to defeat a specific enemy NPC have been updated. In affected missions, the player can now interact with an object in the world to spawn the target (instead of needing to wait for a respawn).

  • Corrected many instances where text and voiceovers did not match.

 

  • Players can now leave comments on entries in their Friends List in the Social Window.

 

  • The Galactic Trade Network interface now supports text-based searches without category restrictions.
  • The Emergency Fleet Pass now takes Republic players to the center of the Republic Fleet instead of the Tython and Ord Mantell arrival hangar.
  • Added musical triggers to some missions and encounters.
  • Numerous spelling and grammatical errors in text throughout the game have been corrected.

 

I’d also like to give a shout out to Why SWTOR will never ‘Jump The Shark’ and the SWTOR Gamers of Oceania Facebook Group who are awesome. As always, If you feel I missed anything feel free to comment below or you can start a religious debate – your choice.

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The Casual SWTORian: 1.2 roundup

March 28, 2012 by

It’s time to welcome both a new weekly a column and a new writer to the TOROZ team. Ken Clark is going to be writing The Casual SWTORian each week, dedicated to those who don’t have the time to immerse themselves in game developments but instead want a very simple roundup of things happening and stuff on the horizon. Welcome Ken!

Do you play SWTOR? Do you not care to sift through the raw info each week to find that one nugget of information that is relevant to you as a casual player? if yes then this is the place for you. With the release of the excessively long 1.2 patch notes you are probably thinking “aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh, I’ll just be surprised on the day”. You don’t need to be – with this list you can check out most of the changes relevant to you:

1.2 Changes at a Glimpse

  • As a result of game balance efforts, many classes have had their skill tree layouts modified. Affected characters will have their skill points refunded on login.
  • “Rest” abilities, such as Meditation and Recharge and Reload, are no longer interrupted by taking damage if the player is not currently in combat.
  • Tauntaun vanity pets can now be acquired on the planet Hoth, though the exact means of acquisition are a mystery.
  • An issue that caused some items to be unlinkable in chat has been addressed.
  • The chances for one player to win the majority of rolls in Multiplayer Conversations have been diminished.
  • Large ships more readily display surface damage as the attached hardpoints are destroyed.
  • Players can now unlock a wide variety of rewards by leveling characters and reaching new Legacy levels, including buffs for your characters, unlocking additional Species choices for every class, and upgrades for your personal Starship.
  • The preference for “Show Sith Corruption” is now labeled “Show Dark Side Corruption.”
  • Players are now able to disable the Smart Camera in the preferences menu.
  • The Galactic Trade Network interface now supports text-based searches without category restrictions.
  • The Map no longer becomes translucent when riding a taxi
  • Added musical triggers to some missions and encounters.

And there you have it: the 1.2 patch notes summed up from the casual perspective. If you feel I missed anything feel free to comment below, point out typos or you can start a religious debate – your choice.

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