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.
advertisement 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.
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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.
)
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.
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