Star Wars: The Old Republic : Advanced Classes Update

Star Wars: The Old Republic fans get more information about the game's advanced classes thanks to a new article penned by Pricipal Lead Combat Designer Georg Zoeller. Zoeller talks about how the system has evolved over time, through discussions, gameplay testing and focus group input.

Advanced Classes (often abbreviated ACs) are chosen on your faction’s capital world – either Coruscant or Dromund Kaas - when your character reaches level 10 or above. Each base class gets a choice of two Advanced Classes; for example if you are playing a Jedi Knight, you will be able to choose to play the Jedi Guardian or Jedi Sentinel Advanced Class.
Choosing an Advanced Class is very important in The Old Republic, as within your Advanced Class, your character will reach their full potential. Your Advanced Class choice dramatically alters the gameplay experience of your base class by providing access to two exclusive skill trees per Advanced Class, with a third being shared between both Advanced Classes.

Read more here.

Star Wars: The Old Republic : New Novel Revealed

Bioware has revealed new information on the latest novel based in the Star Wars: The Old Republic universe. The new book is titled "Revan" and is being written by Drew Karpyshyn, Principal Writer at BioWare and author of the Darth Bane series of Star Wars novels. The new book will reveal information about the Sith Emperor, where he came from and how he came to power.

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).

Read more of the interview with Drew Karpyshyn on the Star Wars: The Old Republic site.

Star Wars: The Old Republic : Eternity Vault Developer Walkthrough Video

LucasArts and Bioware have released a new developer-led walkthrough of the Eternity Vault. Watch as a group of players work their way towards the prison gates in the opening section.

Star Wars: The Old Republic : On Combat Animations

Principal Lead Animator Mark How has penned the latest in a series of developer diaries about various creative processes for Star Wars: The Old Republic. How writes about Combat Animations this time.
As with most things Star Wars, the team focused, at least initially, on the "iconic" clash of two lightsabres and working to ensure that this type of combat is brought to the game correctly:

We worked closely with the combat programmers and designers to ensure that the combat visuals do not detract from the gameplay experience. A key aspect we learned early in development was that players do not enjoy having character control taken away from them because of an action or animation. Similarly, we realized that any action a player takes in the game needs to be visually represented in a way that is consistent with the player’s expectations.

From here, How moves the discussion to combat cover and its importance in The Old Republic. The team was determined to make the animations work correct for barrel-rolling behind a crate, for instance. How talks about the length of time this took to function as it should, with the team play acting the way they hoped the animations would turn out.
All in all, it's a great article about bringing great ideas, seemingly simple ideas, to life within the constraints of MMO development.
Read the full article on the Star Wars: The Old Republic site.

Star Wars: The Old Republic : Full Beta Preview

Today marks a big turning point for Star Wars: The Old Republic with a partial lift of the embargo for members of the press and we here at MMORPG.com have a full slate of articles covering the Republic side and levels 1-15 today. Community Manager Mike Bitton has a comprehensive look at the overall beta (that we can write about!) that is a must read for any and all fans of SWTOR. Check it out and then leave us your thoughts in the comments.

Troopers start out on the mountainous planet of Ord Mantell as a new member of the Republic special forces team Havoc Squad. The first minute or so involved my character being briefed on the situation on the ground by one of my fellow Havoc Squad members while riding aboard a Republic dropship. Things quickly take a turn for the worse as the dropship takes enemy fire, prompting the pilot to make an emergency landing. As the exit ramp opens, I am treated to a wide view of the war torn planet of Ord Mantell before I step out and put my boots firmly on the ground.

Read more of Mike Bitton's Star Wars: The Old Republic - Full Beta Preview.

Star Wars: The Old Republic : Eurogamer Expo Q&A Highlights: Achievements at Launch

The folks over at DarthHater have put together highlights of the Eurogamer Expo Meet and Greet Q&A with BioWare's Stephen Reid and Daniel Erickson.

The interview features a number of tasty morsels of information as well as an interesting story regarding the 'sordid tale' of European Game Testing.
One such tasty morsel was the confirmation that an Achievements system would make it in for launch, news that even caught Stephen Reid off-guard. Now, the system won't be the full blown get an Achievement for every little thing at launch, but Daniel noted the first iteration of Achievements will offer players bragging rights for the game's more significant accomplishments:

Not correct. Achievements have made ship in fact. They're not going to be the achievements, the crazy achievements that you have to place everywhere, that are like, "Hey if you drink 6 beers and fart in a cantina," those are not going the achievements to go in. Version 1 of the achievement system which go in, which is actually doing big, heroic stuff, because there's a ton of great optional content in The Old Republic, like, "Hey, I went to every world and kicked the world boss's ass." Those kinds of achievements. That's going to be the level one system. People need reasons to go back to planets and run around and do that other stuff, so that will come second. The first system is, "Hey, here's my bragging rights, here's the bad ass stuff I did in-game."

There's quite a bit more to be found over at DarthHater, including BioWare's plans regarding surnames and why no new species will be announced for launch (particularly of the 'freak' alien variety).

Star Wars: The Old Republic : Explore the Galaxy in 3D

Star Wars: The Old Republic devs have sent word that a new interactive 3D map of the galaxy has been added to the Holonet on the official site.
The map gives players a chance to check out each of the five known sectors of the galaxy, 3D models of player ships and planet profiles.
Check it out on the Star Wars: The Old Republic site.

Star Wars: The Old Republic : Beta Testing Weekend Incoming!

If you're one of the ten people in the universe who have yet to sign up for beta testing events for Star Wars: The Old Republic, you might want to swing by the official site and get with the program.
The official site has been updated with the news that the next beta testing event will begin on October 7th and will run through October 10th. Invites for the session will be sent out this week.
Sign ups are still being accepted so head to the official Star Wars: The Old Republic site to get in the pool of potential testers.
C'mon in! The water's fine!

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Modification Madness

Column By Michael Bitton on October 12, 2011

One of the remaining sort-of mysterious features of Star Wars: The Old Republic is the game’s heavily touted item modification system. Despite the upwards of 20,000 posts on the game’s official forums clamoring for an ‘Appearance Tab’ a’la most contemporary MMOs, BioWare has often stated that the game’s item modification system made such a tab basically needless, which is why they are not planning on implementing one. Even so, outside of some infrequent but illuminating remarks from the game’s developers, the system remains overall mysterious.

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As early as this summer, BioWare got a bit more specific, using the example of a Tusken Raider outfit to illustrate the versatility of the system. Using the item modification system, players would basically be able to keep their items (such as some random Tusken Raider outfit) up to snuff all the way to level cap, and perhaps beyond. However, in the absence of concrete specifics (such as a detailed write-up/section on the official TOR website), most fans have been divided on how confident they are this system would adequately replace the much desired appearance tab, and this void has obviously left room for a lot of rampant speculation.

This is why the game’s official forums light ablaze when one of Daniel Erickson’s many interviews is auto-translated from French to English and features remarks that fuel those doubts. Recently, when Daniel spoke with the folks over at Jeuxvideo he supposedly made some comments (again, translated) stating that “most items in the game aren’t moddable” and that there are basically a few items without stats that provide players with the ability to achieve an “iconic look” e.g. Obi Wan Kenobi’s outfit. From what it sounds like, the idea was to basically allow players to wear these iconic sets for an extended period of time via use of the modification system. While I’m sure some players might appreciate this sort of thing in addition to the robust individuality offered by a mod system that allows all items to be customized this way, the notion of outright replacing that design with this approach did not go over well with fans of the game.
The reason for the inconsistency in BioWare’s comments on the item modification system has to do with the fact that the system is actually in flux at the moment, which is apparently why we don’t have concrete details on it just yet. In an effort to provide some clarity, BioWare’s Allison Berryman jumped in on the forums to caution users regarding the accuracy of translated comments and noted that BioWare is actually using their Game Testing program to you know, test the game, and this means they will sometimes test radical changes in the program. Allison then went on to explain that it is likely that Daniel Erickson was referring to the item modification as it is currently implemented in Game Testing, not necessarily the final version of the system.

Despite the ensuing firestorm, I feel this is as good an opportunity as any to discuss what I’d personally like to see from this system, especially since I’m one of those vain freaks who feels an appearance tab is absolutely necessary. After all, I want to play a game set in the Knights of the Old Republic era, not Attack of the Clones.
My struggle with MMO individuality began as far back as my first MMO, Star Wars Galaxies, in which the game’s most prevalent armor style was the Composite Armor. Composite Armor was simply the best stuff available outside of super rare armor such as Mandalorian Armor, ensuring that just about everyone wore it. To get around this, I tried playing a Teras Kasi Master without using armor, which was possible, but quite difficult, and I eventually had to don some of that goofy stuff myself. Blech!
Fast forward a bit and City of Heroes offered an awesome change of pace. My look wasn’t tied to my capabilities, which is something I enjoyed greatly, and so I ended up playing that game for almost five years, with a few breaks here and there of course. One such break was The Matrix Online, which seemed to emphasize individual style with its unbelievable breadth of armor and clothing options. However, just like Star Wars Galaxies, in order to be effective, certain items were practically mandatory for certain builds and so the ‘clownsuit’ as I call it was born.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Star Wars: The Old Trek

In looking for a new MMORPG to play as I wait patiently for my Hello Kitty Online suspension to be lifted, I've been doing a lot of reading and research on Star Wars: The Old Republic.
I realize that some of you are probably thinking "oh God, not another frigging Star Wars article", but in my defense, I don't care. The game is coming down the barrel faster than Greedo can blink, and most of the feedback I've seen is all but demanding my caring and gentle ability to critique internet retardation.
Which seems rampant.

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Please note: I'm not here to discuss the finer points of the game, or any of its merits and flaws - that job is reserved for people who do actual research and ‘know what they are talking about’. Discussions of whether or not the game is a Warcraft clone or how they ruined space combat don't concern me. What does concern me are the three stupidest complaints about Star Wars: The Old Republic that I've seen repeated again and again on the forums and in general discussion.
Complaints that have no real bearing on the game itself, but seem to replicate themselves faster than Tribbles in an analogy that made half of you scream "that's Star Trek you idiot!" before you even finished this sentence.
 Vague or paranoid complaints like:

1) They're going to ruin it.

This wins the number one spot because as franchises go, Star Wars fans are pretty much f**king psychotic.

Don't believe me?
Well if my soon-to-be-discovered corpse and its many, many plastic sword induced bruises aren't evidence enough, try this fun little game: Find someone who played the original Star Wars MMORPG, and casually mention that you believe the "NGE" was the greatest thing to ever happen to the game. Your battered corpse will soon be joining mine in the Sarlacc pit (read: "dumpster") behind Wal-Mart.
The NGE or "New Game Enhancement" was a patch that completely changed the original Star Wars MMORPG's game play and experience and kicked every true fan's "Insane-o-meter" up to eleven.  Because of the change, an imperfect game system was basically destroyed and made a martyr in the shadow of bastardization that followed. Every flaw and long winded forum complaint about the original was forgotten and memory of time before the change became almost idyllic.
Fast forward to today and those wounded by that perceived betrayal are so jaded, they'll never trust a Star Wars game again. They simply expect to be burned, and because of that any hope for the future is tainted with the memory of the past. Luckily that hesitation to ever trust again doesn't stop them from going into every forum they can find in order to remind everyone that no matter how good they feel the game is, it'll eventually be ruined.
Which is the reason behind my hatred of the goddamn NGE.

Star Wars : The Old Republic – Companions

Star Wars : The Old Republic – Official Developer Dispatch : Designing Companions.
Star Wars: The Old Republic has been lauded for breaking new ground in the genre by building on traditional MMO gameplay pillars of combat, exploration and character progression, and adding a fourth dimension to the experience – story. The Old Republic is set thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader, when the galaxy is in the midst of a cold war.

Players will be asked to join forces with either the Galactic Republic or Sith Empire and choose one of eight iconic Star Wars characters: Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler, Trooper, Bounty Hunter, Imperial Agent, Sith Inquisitor and Sith Warrior. Every player’s story will unfold based on meaningful choices made throughout the game, enabling them to becomethe hero of their own personal Star Wars saga.

Along their journey players will encounter companion characters with which players can build or break meaningful relationships as they join in your journeys and fight at your side. Throughout their adventures, players will be immersed in a vibrant galaxy of planets, engage in heroic battles and experience visceral Star Wars combat.

The "Star Wars" flash point tasks and selling arrangement exposure

Recently, the Star Wars: the old republic "producer Cory Butler said in an interview with the media talked about the game tasks and tests and flash points of the release of the relevant arrangement.

Cory Butler says Bioware the game's plot to design is quite seriously, attractive special tasks, the plot can greatly enrich the game experience. One of the "flash point mission" system that is such a plot to the task of leading system. A flash point, each task is a let players thrilling tale, of which is rich in regional players make a different choice, the choice can be game change and influence the plot, the enemy will all kinds, among them are the Star Wars fans of the familiar, if the whole Star Wars: the old republic "plot and world view is a monumental work of words, so each flash point is one short pithy task footage.

At the same time Cory Butler also talked about game testing related arrangement, Butler says in the testing phase they continue collecting players feedback, and interact with the player, the scale of the test will be of great, but Butler and did not provide details on the number of open players test.

In talking about the game, Butler says on the formal launch Bioware hope the game to be memorable day with, can let players feel excited a day, so for the release of the game arrangement has become the first work of one of them. For the release of the game arrangement, already has DuoZhong Bioware scheme, and they guarantee that the scheme will definitely bring a surprise for players.