Support NeoGAF

[Kagari]

I'm iiiiiiiiiin. Hope I get selected.

 

[Vaporak]

I was getting an endless loop in the resistration process for a good hour there, when it even loaded. But I'm finally signed up.

 

[Metalic Sand]

MMO's havent felt the same to me since i left galaxies. Signed up and hyped up.

 

[nataku]

Ugh, endless registration loop.

After the 10th time trying, I'll just wait until tomorrow. Hopefully they fix whatever is wrong. I'm not typing all that shit in again.

 

[Lone_Prodigy]

Managed to sign up but when I tried to sign up for testing it kicked me back to the registration screen.

 

[Shrennin]

I will do another big update to the OP in a couple days.

I would wait until Friday because we're supposed to get something that's bigger than just a comic (unless it was the Beta and they just decided to give it to us earlier because of the potential problems).

 

[Akim]

(I) You acknowledge and agree that all items acquired for points during the Game Program are non-refundable and non-tradable.
(K) You acknowledge and agree that BWA reserves the right to change/add/remove points rewarded in the Game store at any time and without warning. (M) You acknowledge and agree that points acquired during the Game Program cannot be saved up for or used in the commercial version of the Game.


Oh god sounds like micro transactions to me..

 

[Joneal23]

Yeah, it's pretty much known that this game will have micro-transactions. Get ready to pay for different color lightsabers.

 

[brandonh83]

Holy shit, finally managed to at least get to the scan! :lol

 

[Haly]

Yeah, it's pretty much known that this game will have micro-transactions. Get ready to pay for different color lightsabers.

Dibs on black lightsaber.

 

[border]

I gotta imagine they are making it a hybrid subscription/microtransaction MMO like Dungeons & Dragons Online is becoming. Subscribers get x number of free points per month.....freeloaders pay for all their points.

 

[Shrennin]

I really like how they plan to go through with their testing process.

For every testing session, there is probably going to be new testers chosen instead of the usual same old testers plus new testers.

Unless the older testers prove to be really good at sending feedback and/or catching bugs.

 

[Yasae]

I live in Austin. Let me know if I need to kick their asses a bit... :lol

 

[Lone_Prodigy]

Got to the scan last night but it wouldn't let me submit the results (I think). Kept going back to the "sign up for testing" page.

 

[delleps]

I got the same loop problem, but got it to work.

Idk if this was the cause, but I found it worked if I clicked "Do This Later" or whatever it was when you start to sign up for testing.

Try creating your account first, then going and confirming your account, signing in, and then try to register for testing.

 

[randomlyrossy]

Coruscant

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/the-making-star-wars/57513

This game really is shaping up to be pretty immense. I can easily see myself wasting days just wandering around Coruscant exploring the place. Can not wait to play this.

 

[laserbeam]

Coruscant

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/the-making-star-wars/57513

This game really is shaping up to be pretty immense. I can easily see myself wasting days just wandering around Coruscant exploring the place. Can not wait to play this.

Agreed Im really looking forward to Coruscant. It was always labeled a too tech intensive world for Galaxies. Just hoping its as a free reigned exploration as I think alot of us want and not restrictive in terms of traveling around

 

[LAUGHTREY]

I wish we could see some more gameplay, or where they're going to go with it. I guess it's really early though all we're seeing is environments and art mostly.


I just wanna know if I can have a flying mount in Coruscant


Also, I don't get how Sith and Jedi can be seperate classes? Shouldn't it be determined which paths you take? What if you take the all positive paths of Sith? Or all negative of Jedi?

 

[oxrock]

I wish we could see some more gameplay, or where they're going to go with it. I guess it's really early though all we're seeing is environments and art mostly.


I just wanna know if I can have a flying mount in Coruscant


Also, I don't get how Sith and Jedi can be seperate classes? Shouldn't it be determined which paths you take? What if you take the all positive paths of Sith? Or all negative of Jedi?

I don't think as a jedi you're going to be given the opportunity to train force lightning or anything, you pick who suits your playstyle. It makes sense that you should be given the opportunity to fall into darkness but being you weren't trained as a sith you wouldn't know how to use relevent force powers anyhow. I have no doubt that you'll be able to act as dark as you like but to let it go any further wouldn't make sense.

Personally I'm extremely amp'd for this game, more so than I was for WoW even. As things are now, I'm planning to be a sith warrior although honestly everything looks cool so far. It's a star wars game though and I feel the urge to indulge my inner nerd and run rampant with my lightsaber. As for choosing the forces of darkness...Well it's safer to indulge my darker side online than in real life right

 

[Blackface]

OP updated. New info about Balmorra, which sounds like the first PVP planet is up.

 

[Blackface]

New playable class officially added. Jedi Knight.

 

[LAUGHTREY]

Ugh, why are they different classes. They look like they play exactly the same.

 

[Blackface]

Imperial Agent class was announced and will be next fridays update.

 

[AzureNightmare]

Ugh, why are they different classes. They look like they play exactly the same.

Looks can be deceiving, and if they do play the same way, then whats wrong with them having different names? It would be in keeping with the universe's lore.

 

[Nirolak]

I feel they finally really nailed the aesthetic of the humans:

They don't look like plastic at all anymore.

 

[vertopci]

I'm liking how that looks.

 

[IcedTea]

I really like the way things are turning out so far. I was worried at first that the non sith warrior classes would be uninteresting, but I think imperial agent is my favourite looking class so far, and bounty hunter is looking awesome too.

 

[mikeGFG]

Good shit. I love the agent's airstrike skill.

and Im guessing the last two classes will be some kind of engineer and/or medic.

 

[Nirolak]

The last two classes were revealed to be the Jedi Consular and the Sith Inquisitor in a German magazine. They seem to be nukers/healers/disablers.

 

[Jibber Hack]

Sounds hot.

 

[Blackface]

The last two classes were revealed to be the Jedi Consular and the Sith Inquisitor in a German magazine. They seem to be nukers/healers/disablers.

Should be a lot of news about them in the next couple weeks.

Seems like Bioware is getting ready to start up the closed beta.

 

[Vlodril]

Seems like Bioware is getting ready to start up the closed beta.

Have you read that somewhere or are you just guessing? I really hope it starts soon , the sooner this game is out the better

 

[Shrennin]

Have you read that somewhere or are you just guessing? I really hope it starts soon , the sooner this game is out the better

It's probably just a guess (although I have the same guess) - the classes are all announced so there is nothing secretive about the classes, at least.

Although I don't think closed beta will be "officially announced" as it is likely going to be "announced" through the invites being sent to the emails of people who signed up for the beta and were chosen for that particular session.

In other news, Alderaan was just announced as a playable planet (it's independent from either Republic or Sith alignment as there is a civil war brewing with the Republic siding with the House of Organa):

http://swtor.com/news/news-article/20091127_001

 

[Blackface]

Updated Op with Alderan.

 

[Malfunky]

New info up from the San Francisco event.

http://darthhater.com/2009/12/03/december-3rd-information-extravaganza/

Consular and inquisitor details, companion characters, skill tree info, stuff.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Some previews on the new classes:

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/03/hands-on-star-wars-the-old-republic/

While we only got about 20 minutes with the Inquisitor demo, we came away feeling good about where the game is headed in terms of its fundamentals, story integration and visuals... There's also the unanswered question of whether there will be space flight, and maybe even interstellar combat, in the game. Now that would truly make SW:TOR a force to be reckoned with among competing MMOs.

http://www.destructoid.com/going-to-a-galaxy-far-far-away-with-the-old-republic-156641.phtml

Audio is certainly nice. All of the voice acting sounds right up there with the Star Wars standard. The soaring epic orchestral makes a comeback, and it sounds like everything is going to make you feel as epic as you'd expect.

I came away very impressed with the quality of Star Wars: The Old Republic. It is obvious that BioWare is placing utmost care into developing the de facto Star Wars MMO, and that every element -- from the story, to the action, to the gameplay -- is being designed from the ground up to represent the best of both the Star Wars universe and the quality of a BioWare designed game.

http://g4tv.com/games/pc/61502/star.../Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic-Hands-On-Preview/

The gameplay is a pleasant mix of Knights of the Old Republic storytelling and standard WoW-style MMO controls. One interesting choice on the part of the developers is that melee attacks are not automatic. One button press equals one lightsaber combo attack; you can’t just sit there and watch your character hack at enemies without any input on your part.

...Being a Sith trainee, most responses were a choice between obsequiousness, total apathy, or acute unpleasantness. It was a small taste, but it was easy to get a sense of how large the game is, and how much there will be to explore...

...We were only given ten minutes or so to play, but I could have stayed for another ten hours combing the Sith ruins.

http://kotaku.com/5417703/star-wars-the-old-republic-preview-the-space-inquisition

How Far Along Is It?
It's hard to say with so limited an experience. Furthermore, no release date has been suggested and while names have been collected for the closed beta, there's no word on how that's progressing. I think I was playing on a very unfinished product on account of some missing text, the fact that I wasn't allowed to explore very much and the part where I was playing an MMO strangely devoid of other players.

...Wow, is the whole galaxy a size D or just the Sith chicks? I'm not as annoyed as I am bemused by the boobs I saw in Old Republic. I almost missed half of what my acolyte was saying during the opening quest cinematic because I was watching her bosom stay oddly stationary while the rest of her body would shift when she sighed in boredom at her boss.

What Should Stay The Same?
Excellent Voice Work: This is where BioWare really feels different than other MMOs to me. Every character I talked to had a different voice and sounded like they could actually act. It definitely speaks to the quality of the product LucasArts is encouraging BioWare to produce.

Good Use of Camera Angles: During cinema scenes, the camera would cut angles – much like they do in Mass Effect cut scenes. It kept things interesting and gave me more opportunities to look at things other than my character's chest. Also, they didn't over-use it, which is crucial to its success as a storytelling tool

...I'm happy I got to see the game, but I'm sad that it was such a limited experience that basically amounts to your average fetch quest in any other MMO (only with more story behind it and higher production values). Also, I would've really liked to see that Jedi mind-rape quest because that sounded like it would yield more of the BioWare dialogue I'm addicted to.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Kinda disappointed at the choices of the last two classes being more jedi, but I do see that they are supposed to be more like "mages" than your normal Jedi who are to be more direct combat oriented.

I'm still really wondering if they plan on letting players choose their characters starting race or are all players gonna be human? They haven't shown any other races for the player characters, just different sex.

As for release date information, they still haven't said anything official, but it was recently announced that they are doing tie in novels set during the games time period and they will begin releasing Summer of next year, so that could be indicative of around when this game will probably be popping up.

 

[bloodforge]

I'm still really wondering if they plan on letting players choose their characters starting race or are all players gonna be human? They haven't shown any other races for the player characters, just different sex.

If we are only allowed to play as Humans then that would effectively kill any interest I have in the game and I'm sure a whole lot of other people, and they have to know that. Races will probably be the next thing they start to reveal.

 

[Shrennin]

It was confirmed that humans aren't the only playable races (it's just the only race they have shown so far) - races are most likely going to be one of the next things they slowly reveal (since all of the classes will likely be officially revealed tomorrow and the planet reveals can't last for too much longer).

 

[Vinci]

I wants to play it. =(

 

[Metalic Sand]

It was confirmed that humans aren't the only playable races (it's just the only race they have shown so far) - races are most likely going to be one of the next things they slowly reveal (since all of the classes will likely be officially revealed tomorrow and the planet reveals can't last for too much longer).

I just hope they add trandoshans. My jedi on SWG was a trando.

Feel they will be left out since not much played the race. Most stuck with human/Spikey head human?/ Twi'leks.

 

[Shrennin]

I just hope they add trandoshans. My jedi on SWG was a trando.

Feel they will be left out since not much played the race. Most stuck with human/Spikey head human?/ Twi'leks.

Trandoshans seem like a given (just because they are a staple race of Star Wars, or at least I consider them a staple race). I was always a human on SWG, although sometimes I tried other races (the one race that I hope is NOT playable in TOR is Wookies).

Oh, apparently it was confirmed that a novel would be released "around the time of the release for the game" and that novel was just confirmed to be released on July 21, 2009.

If that first comment is still true, then the game can't be too far behind (which means this game will likely release in November, and at latest December).

 

[BattleMonkey]

Twi'leks are a given as playable in a Star Wars game :lol

 

[Masta_Killah]

New interview with Bioware on GiantBomb. New classes announced, talk about instancing, and more info on how companions work.

Edit: Damn, didn't see that this was already updated. :lol

 

[Blackface]

OP updated with new interviews/developer blogs/video interview/class.

 

[bengraven]

Just watched a few of the videos up on IGN (I'm LTTP on the Consular, Inquisitor tip) and I have to say this is still one of my most anticipated games, gameplay wise.

That said, the cartoony graphics are REALLY off-putting...I would really love a bit of toning down; it honestly looks like a children's show.

But even worse, is it just me or do the world's look kind of...dull? I mean, visually they are beautiful and stimulating, but just don't feel like they are full of things to do. Then again, I felt the same way when I was first shown Burning Crusade and Eversong woods.

I am so creating a bounty hunter and Sith Inquisitor when the game is released however.

 

[Lilsnubby]

Nice interview about SWTOR with the Lucasarts Audio team on Darthhater

http://darthhater.com/2009/12/16/interview-series-the-audio-of-tor/

 

[Swag]

How was the end game for Galaxies? Raiding is pretty much the main motivator for me when it comes to MMOs and I'm wary about getting into something without knowing what the end game is like.

It also doesn't seem like the classes in this are the conventional warrior etc so are the raid encounters going to be structured around more movement and environment management then straight up tanking and such?

Btw I didn't read all of the thread and I know information has been thin, I did read the first couple pages though!

 

[Shrennin]

How was the end game for Galaxies? Raiding is pretty much the main motivator for me when it comes to MMOs and I'm wary about getting into something without knowing what the end game is like.

I played Galaxies but never actually participated in any endgame because it was mainly a social MMO, rather than an MMO based on combat.

However, TOR is not getting inspired at all by Galaxies and so far the PVP aspects of the game haven't been mentioned. BioWare has said that they have all the usual PVP aspects of MMOs, and the certain PVP mechanics in TOR are great but they are not ready to talk specifics. I think BioWare has said that the battlegrounds in TOR, for instance, are different from the battlegrounds done in MMOs before (I hope this means Battle Planets, in other words there will be planets that have the sole purpose of PVP and perhaps allow actual effects from the players).

It also doesn't seem like the classes in this are the conventional warrior etc so are the raid encounters going to be structured around more movement and environment management then straight up tanking and such?

BioWare mentioned that they went into developing the classes like this: They first thought about what made a great Star Wars class, something that was a class that had great Star Wars flavor and when you see the class you think Star Wars. The next thing they thought about was classes fit for MMO gameplay, but it was built around the Star Wars flavor. As a result, the classes are not built around the usual MMO flare which does bring concerns with class balance; however, I think we'll have to see more gameplay or play it ourselves before we can determine if the classes are properly balanced. If they are then I see the classes in TOR as being the best classes an MMO has come up with so far (because every class is essentially different, even those that are parallels of others from other factions).

Anyway, it's becoming more clear as I read a recent interview that the specializations will likely be chosen through a story moment as opposed to being forced to put points in a specialization window (think talent points ala WoW).

In other words, a Smuggler will choose to specialize as a gunslinger or scoundrel based on his decision in the story - that way the player chooses a specialization but it is done through immersion.

There is also speculation that, since the classes have two specializations, there may be three different paths each specific specialization can take - a specialization in Scoundrel may be able to focus solely on medicine, stealth, or smooth talking.

 

[AzureNightmare]

Just watched a few of the videos up on IGN (I'm LTTP on the Consular, Inquisitor tip) and I have to say this is still one of my most anticipated games, gameplay wise.

That said, the cartoony graphics are REALLY off-putting...I would really love a bit of toning down; it honestly looks like a children's show.

But even worse, is it just me or do the world's look kind of...dull? I mean, visually they are beautiful and stimulating, but just don't feel like they are full of things to do. Then again, I felt the same way when I was first shown Burning Crusade and Eversong woods.

I am so creating a bounty hunter and Sith Inquisitor when the game is released however.

I guess you dont care for Team Fortress 2 then.