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[Doncamatic]

Believe hes involved in the game somehow, he has given lot of info lately

That's how I read it.

@Speculator Any comments on the moddability that the game will have in regards to its UI elements? In line with WoW? More? Less? Or nothing to say at this time?

 

[LowParry]

Did they say it was an older one or are you saying that it looks old?

Check his profile

 

[Speculator]

lol, I can't really comment on too much. However, yes, many of the art assets including UI have and are being updated through development with great improvements by the art team .

Edit: Thought I'd just throw in some comparison shots of the progress.

 

[Emitan]

lol, I can't really comment on too much. However, yes, many of the art assets including UI have and are being updated through development with great improvements by the art team .

Thanks for the news. The current UI seems overdesigned. Glad to know they've worked on this

 

[antonz]

What has been shown has certainly eased alot of concerns that I have had. Certainly looks better than my days back in the SWG beta early and even just before launch heh


Looking forward to the Sith Inquisitor Class video

 

[Snipes424]

I don't get why people are complaining about the archatypes.

Would you rather it be a console game where everyone is DPS?

The MMO genre has more variety in play-style then almost any other when it comes to individual character types.

If you think they shouldn't follow this, then please I would love to know an alternative thats actually viable.

Couldn't agree more. I don't necessarily disagree with the people bitching about having EQ or WoW type archetypes, but I have yet to see/hear/play a better alternative to them.

 

[Emitan]

lol, I can't really comment on too much. However, yes, many of the art assets including UI have and are being updated through development with great improvements by the art team .

Edit: Thought I'd just throw in some comparison shots of the progress.

The game is looking fantastic. I love the slightly cartoonish style that everything has. It's much more pleasing than WoW's take on cartoony graphics.

 

[Derwind]

The game is looking fantastic. I love the slightly cartoonish style that everything has. It's much more pleasing than WoW's take on cartoony graphics.

*Ahem* Its called stylized realism....=P

 

[Emitan]

*Ahem* Its called stylized realism....=P

You get them fancy words out of here. This is a discussion for normal folk.

 

[antonz]

In many ways the game shares the overall Galaxies look though with improved artstyle that makes it look much nicer and will as the way want it to lead to it aging better.

 

[CzarTim]

For the new page:

Empire Guild
Republic Guild

No European guild yet.

 

[antonz]

I think the social side of the game is the one big area aside from PVP where info is needed. Social aspect is going to make or break it for a segment of gamers.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Will get in the Republic guild as a Trooper.

In many ways the game shares the overall Galaxies look though with improved artstyle that makes it look much nicer and will as the way want it to lead to it aging better.

Well Galaxies I think was trying for at the time realistic visuals for the most part yet nowadays looks cartoony. Dunno, but the visuals, especially with the way textures are in this game to me seem to make it look similar to the Clone Wars TV series in a ways.

 

[Door2Dawn]

Sith Inquisitor Origin World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns-mmLjGrUg

 

[BattleMonkey]

So they have all 8 classes starting areas being demoed at the con?

 

[antonz]

So they have all 8 classes starting areas being demoed at the con?

All Classes were making their debut yeah.

 

[kitzkozan]

The game is looking fantastic. I love the slightly cartoonish style that everything has. It's much more pleasing than WoW's take on cartoony graphics.

I'd take this art team 1000X time over the one that was assigned to Dragon age 2. I hope they can work on Dragon age 3 if there's a sequel to the second one of course.

 

[Weenerz]

Part of me does not want a beta invite so when the game launches, everything will be fresh.

 

[antonz]

Part of me does not want a beta invite so when the game launches, everything will be fresh.

Kinda in the same boat but Ive done every major MMO Beta since Galaxies so kinda want to keep the tradition going. Galaxies Beta had prettier CDs then the game actually launched with heh. Talk about old having to get CDs mailed to you

 

[Derwind]

I was kind of annoyed at how they named the enemies. At least the low level enemies in Korriban.

Tomb Looter Thug, Tomb Looter Guard? .... *heavy sigh*

I hope that the naming creativity doesn't settle for that throughout the entire game. :/

I'd have preferred random monsters over looters on the heavily guarded and occupied sith world as Korriban....:/

 

[BattleMonkey]

Korriban was abandoned for almost 300 years, it was just recently retaken and a new academy being set up in the beginning of the game.

 

[Derwind]

Korriban was abandoned for almost 300 years, it was just recently retaken and a new academy being set up in the beginning of the game.

ehhh...well the whole looter thug, looter guard...ect...titles kind of feels lacking. *shrug*

 

[Jira]

I wasn't even focusing on mob names, but rather the large amount of detail they have put into the level 1 quest area for one single area of a planet It really blew my mind honestly, just seeing that guy go through the motions of questing and killing in that area alone had me more excited than the level 32 flashpoint demos I've seen.

I found myself actually listening to what was being said by the initial quest giver and then the one down below in the tombs, I like how it feels as if there is a smooth transition and consistency from quest to quest and that you really can follow along with the story quite easily. With most MMOs you might read a quest and go out and do a couple quests, go to turn in and it could be over an hour later and you forget what you even read, where as with TOR it feels like you will have a coherent story you can latch on to and say oh hey I remember this guy he needed me to go pick up this for him because of such and such reason.

The attention to detail and polish is going to allow TOR to stand out above the rest of the pack, I see TOR as the last big hurrah in the themepark style of MMO design and it looks as if Bioware is going out with a bang.

 

[Emitan]

I wasn't even focusing on mob names, but rather the large amount of detail they have put into the level 1 quest area for one single area of a planet It really blew my mind honestly, just seeing that guy go through the motions of questing and killing in that area alone had me more excited than the level 32 flashpoint demos I've seen.

I found myself actually listening to what was being said by the initial quest giver and then the one down below in the tombs, I like how it feels as if there is a smooth transition and consistency from quest to quest and that you really can follow along with the story quite easily. With most MMOs you might read a quest and go out and do a couple quests, go to turn in and it could be over an hour later and you forget what you even read, where as with TOR it feels like you will have a coherent story you can latch on to and say oh hey I remember this guy he needed me to go pick up this for him because of such and such reason.

The attention to detail and polish is going to allow TOR to stand out above the rest of the pack, I see TOR as the last big hurrah in the themepark style of MMO design and it looks as if Bioware is going out with a bang.

The fact that quests are actually interesting is what has me psyched (besides the art style). At first I thought putting in full VA for everything was a complete waste until I watched all the gameplay at PAX. It makes everything more meaningful and fun for someone like me who is never going to powerlevel through the game just to get to the endgame stuff.

 

[Derwind]

Oh believe me, the whole mob name thing was a very very very very very very small thing that only slightly disturbed me.

Like you said, the level 1 quest was so insanely polished, it would be hard to imagine that if I were playing & not watching a video, that my mind wouldn't be completely lost in the immense detail.

I'm hoping the actual game controls handle really well because thats probably the only thing that could distract me from the depth of the story, quest and gameplay...and from what I've heard the game has pretty silky controls.

Also one small thing that kind of preturbs me is the static jumping/falling. I guess its just me expecting waaaaay too much but I kind of would like some small animation that kind of makes the jumping look smoother....

But thats me being nitpicky with small details.

In reality, this entire showcasing has blown my mind and tossed any doubts I had before out the window. Just seeing the scale of Tatooine, makes me nerdgasm something fierce...*faints*

The fact that quests are actually interesting is what has me psyched (besides the art style). At first I thought putting in full VA for everything was a complete waste until I watched all the gameplay at PAX. It makes everything more meaningful and fun for someone like me who is never going to powerlevel through the game just to get to the endgame stuff.

Precisely.

 

[Rokam]

So in the video the sage uses the ability to pick stuff up and throw it. Is that object always going to be that piece of metal or will it be based on location (rocks for outdoor open areas/metal for cityscapes)? Any confirmation from PAX?

 

[antonz]

So in the video the sage uses the ability to pick stuff up and throw it. Is that object always going to be that piece of metal or will it be based on location (rocks for outdoor open areas/metal for cityscapes)? Any confirmation from PAX?

there did appear to be like a hail storm of small pebbles thrown at times. not sure if thats the same skill or not though

 

[Derwind]

So in the video the sage uses the ability to pick stuff up and throw it. Is that object always going to be that piece of metal or will it be based on location (rocks for outdoor open areas/metal for cityscapes)? Any confirmation from PAX?

Well there was a video many months back showing a Shadow Consular using an ability that levitates a giant boulder...

I think there might be some variety to it.

What would be insane is design would change depending on where you're located. Like if you'e located around a hanger, it would be metallic junk. If you're in a rocky canyon, boulders...ect..

 

[DrBo42]

Do we know how instanced this is going to be? I mean once you touch down on a planet, how much of it can you really explore?

 

[antonz]

Do we know how instanced this is going to be? I mean once you touch down on a planet, how much of it can you really explore?

from Q&A tonight:
Phasing question. There is no full zone phasing. Only room phasing to keep groups together.

 

[DrBo42]

Well phasing is an important aspect for grouping sure. But I'm more interested in how much is available on-foot. I hate to compare to WoW but the one thing I really enjoy about it is that I can physically move from 1 end of the continent to the opposite side. Now obviously you can't explore an entire planet because that would be ridiculous but I just don't want it to be like Guild Wars 1 where you meet in some shitty town hub and go out to an instanced area together.

 

[antonz]

there was a leaked video where a guy was zipping around all over korriban on a speeder. The worlds are opened to a degree. how wide open is unknown

 

[Emitan]

from Q&A tonight:
Phasing question. There is no full zone phasing. Only room phasing to keep groups together.

What does this mean? The area around you is instanced, but there's other people nearby?

 

[antonz]

What does this mean? The area around you is instanced, but there's other people nearby?

From what I understand and what has been shown in the videos. Those doorways that are all litup in green. When you enter there you are going into a phased area.

 

[Speculator]

Yup, there are small phased areas on the planets, but the overall majority is fully explorable (wherever you see, you can travel to..except if the area is obviously part of the skymap ).

Also a feature I thought people might be interested and just revealed at PAX...
"Joining via Holocom." It allows separated party members to join conversations as a hologram.

The purpose of this feature is to enable groups to play the story seamlessly together. You do not have to wait for all players to arrive an important quest NPC (since there's always the guy who lags behind in an MMO group anyway). People that are not within the range to initiate physical conversation may opt to join as a hologram instead.

Obviously certain choices will not be available to them (e.g. threatening or applying physical violence), so there is certainly a benefit of actually being there, but it definitely does the trick for many situations just fine.

-Georg Zoeller

 

[antonz]

That is a neat feature.

 

[Derwind]

......Hologram's......someone hold me *faints*

I so love this idea of joining in on a quest convo as a Hologram....so awesome!!!

 

[Lebron]

Game has come a long way graphically, actually looks pretty nice now. Still, the more they show they less interested I seem to get. Not a fan of the unavoidable ME cutscene approach. That's probably the main thing that's killing my vibe.

 

[Plissken]

Some great info coming out of PAX, thanks to everyone that is updating this thread, saves me from scouring the interwebs searching for stuff. I would LOVE to get a release date, but I suppose you've gotta hold something back for E3.

 

[DrBo42]

Yup, there are small phased areas on the planets, but the overall majority is fully explorable (wherever you see, you can travel to..except if the area is obviously part of the skymap ).

Also a feature I thought people might be interested and just revealed at PAX...
"Joining via Holocom." It allows separated party members to join conversations as a hologram.


-Georg Zoeller

Okay that's a perfect addition. I don't want to miss this new quest line intro, but I'm so close to completing my last. Oh I'll just check it out via Holocom. Well done Bioware.

 

[Trouble]

Haha, I had forgotten about this thread I posted on the day the forums opened back in 2008.

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=893

Patiently awaiting my royalty checks, Bioware.

 

[subversus]

VA is surprisingly good.

http://www.vg247.com/2011/03/12/swtor-taral-v-flashpoint-video-walkthrough-released/

 

[ThatObviousUser]

VA is surprisingly good.

http://www.vg247.com/2011/03/12/swtor-taral-v-flashpoint-video-walkthrough-released/

Surprisingly? We always knew this would have AAA voice acting.

 

[Riposte]

*Ahem* Its called stylized realism....=P

Meh, they might call it that, but looks no different than what you might get out of a cartoon. I suppose anything looks like stylized realism if you place it next to WoW.

 

[LowParry]

Meh, they might call it that, but looks no different than what you might get out of a cartoon. I suppose anything looks like stylized realism if you place it next to WoW.

I suppose you could say, the inspiration came from the Clone Wars tv show. Which, imo, looks much much better than WoW's style.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

To me it looks like the environments are very cartoonish but the rest is more realistic (still stylized, but very realistic too.) Perfect balance I'd say.

 

[CzarTim]

Yup, there are small phased areas on the planets, but the overall majority is fully explorable (wherever you see, you can travel to..except if the area is obviously part of the skymap ).

Also a feature I thought people might be interested and just revealed at PAX...
"Joining via Holocom." It allows separated party members to join conversations as a hologram.


-Georg Zoeller

Amazing.

 

[Ferny]

That hologram feature sounds amazing! The stuff they are thinking of and trying to put in this game is going to be killer. They are really thinking of the community in a lot of the things they are putting out.

 

[Stahsky]

I haven't kept up with this game at all. So you board other people's ships when they are docked? Is there any form of customization?

 

[BattleMonkey]

Customization for ships? I assume there will be some form, it sounded like one can get stuff for ships doing the space missions but they haven't really gone into it. Since your ship is also like player housing, I could imagine they would want to include some customization options.