I realize that no one really cares, but after trying out the beta for two weekends I canceled my pre-order. I can't even really describe why it didn't capture my attention, but I think after ME 1 and 2 (yes, I enjoyed them both) and even Dragon Age, I just feel like the game was a little flat. I had hard time getting into it. Oh well, maybe I'll pick it up down the road. I guess I just feel like if I'm not 100% stoked there's never a reason to buy an MMO at launch.
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Star Wars: The Old Republic [Releasing Date: Dec 20 NA/EU - NDA Lifted]
- Thread starter Blackface
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I really can't fathom why they didn't have AA selectable for this test. 90% of the bitching on the official forums could have been avoided.
For nvidia owners I found the following tweaks using nvidia inspector to make a big difference:
Force AA
Other than that, and the yellow dot bug, I really enjoyed the weekend.
For nvidia owners I found the following tweaks using nvidia inspector to make a big difference:
Force AA
Other than that, and the yellow dot bug, I really enjoyed the weekend.
cvkpaladin
Member
Here is my gallery of screenshots with forced AA: http://minus.com/mwfL7wmPH
Most of the screenshots are from the Jedi Knight starting area. Though I do have a few beyond that.
Most of the screenshots are from the Jedi Knight starting area. Though I do have a few beyond that.
Oh yes it does.
Jbird34
Member
They are used to buy gear from Specialty vendors, all your commendations will be under your currency tab in the items menu
At any rate now that my beta time is over I thought I'd post some impressions. I know we're making the round with these but I figure it a good thing to get as many people throwing out stuff as they can so that people can have an idea what to expect during launch:
Over the course of the beta weekend I put time into 4 classes. My IA I got part of the way through the 2nd planet and ended up at around level 16. I played both the JK and the SI through the 1st flashpoint. Both were level 12. Finally I played the Trooper to the advanced class selection but didn't go any further. Overall I feel as though I got a good feel for how the game works without getting into many of the advanced mechanics.
I was impressed by the story quests in general and the look and feel of the worlds I visited. Each planet felt different to me and each set of story quests seemed unique and interesting. The side missions were ok -- standard MMO fare for the most part. I did not like how bonus missions weren't always apparent from the start. Sure, you are likely to encounter them anyways as you play but it's not always the case. The leveling curve is much easier when you do the bonus missions too so I'm not thrilled that they aren't more explicit.
I was also impressed by how the game emphasizes reading about the lore and caring about your co-horts though codex entries and social points. Killing a random beast and getting a codex entry was great. These are nice extras and while you can just click past a codex it's nice that it's up there and documented so that you can come back and read it later.
Flashpoint dungeons were really fun and I loved doing the one I did on (most) characters. I also like how the flashpoints give you branching paths that allow you to change how the story plays out and (even) get you different bosses. That being said I hope that people will have the patience to allow people to enjoy the story. Also I hope that bosses aren't unique in the loot because it would suck to not be able to get an item because it's an unpopular branch of the story.
I hold the same reservations about character creation that many in this thread have already expressed. I was very disappointed that my choice in characters seems to be: Blue Human, Red Human, Part-Robot or some variant of that choice. The stated reasons for this (speech and romance options) are insufficient to me.
I'm also a bit baffled at how character development takes place. The talent trees are rather lackluster. I also really dislike that you don't get healing "spells" or for the most part tanking "spells" until you choose your advanced class. For me it would be essential to see how a class "works" with healing and tanking before I'd want to commit to that character. Furthermore how you choose your advanced class is rather lackluster, to say the least. For such an important decision you'd think they'd walk you though it a bit more.
Lastly, the UI needs work. I can deal with mediocre/middling graphics but if the UI is intrusive (and it is) it really gets in the way.
Overall I think the positives outweigh the negatives so I'll be picking it up, especially if my friends do. I'd really recommend that anybody who hasn't tried it yet do so though before you jump in.
Over the course of the beta weekend I put time into 4 classes. My IA I got part of the way through the 2nd planet and ended up at around level 16. I played both the JK and the SI through the 1st flashpoint. Both were level 12. Finally I played the Trooper to the advanced class selection but didn't go any further. Overall I feel as though I got a good feel for how the game works without getting into many of the advanced mechanics.
I was impressed by the story quests in general and the look and feel of the worlds I visited. Each planet felt different to me and each set of story quests seemed unique and interesting. The side missions were ok -- standard MMO fare for the most part. I did not like how bonus missions weren't always apparent from the start. Sure, you are likely to encounter them anyways as you play but it's not always the case. The leveling curve is much easier when you do the bonus missions too so I'm not thrilled that they aren't more explicit.
I was also impressed by how the game emphasizes reading about the lore and caring about your co-horts though codex entries and social points. Killing a random beast and getting a codex entry was great. These are nice extras and while you can just click past a codex it's nice that it's up there and documented so that you can come back and read it later.
Flashpoint dungeons were really fun and I loved doing the one I did on (most) characters. I also like how the flashpoints give you branching paths that allow you to change how the story plays out and (even) get you different bosses. That being said I hope that people will have the patience to allow people to enjoy the story. Also I hope that bosses aren't unique in the loot because it would suck to not be able to get an item because it's an unpopular branch of the story.
I hold the same reservations about character creation that many in this thread have already expressed. I was very disappointed that my choice in characters seems to be: Blue Human, Red Human, Part-Robot or some variant of that choice. The stated reasons for this (speech and romance options) are insufficient to me.
I'm also a bit baffled at how character development takes place. The talent trees are rather lackluster. I also really dislike that you don't get healing "spells" or for the most part tanking "spells" until you choose your advanced class. For me it would be essential to see how a class "works" with healing and tanking before I'd want to commit to that character. Furthermore how you choose your advanced class is rather lackluster, to say the least. For such an important decision you'd think they'd walk you though it a bit more.
Lastly, the UI needs work. I can deal with mediocre/middling graphics but if the UI is intrusive (and it is) it really gets in the way.
Overall I think the positives outweigh the negatives so I'll be picking it up, especially if my friends do. I'd really recommend that anybody who hasn't tried it yet do so though before you jump in.
Yeah, it looks much, much better.
I tried to force it by entering it into .ini, but game crashed on me. Didn't try anything else though.
How did you guys do it?
BattleMonkey
Member
Yea it looks nice. Overall I think the game looks great outside of some awful textures in random places, especially on players. Don't see the issues with animation, combat is very fluid looking or on par with most MMOs. Some of the newer Asian MMOs have been fairly flashy though with animations.
I had a crazy amount of fun with the Black Talon Flashpoint as a sorcerer. Going through the story together with four game strangers was surprisingly amusing.
I'm also slowly getting used to the morality system. It's Mass Effect style where the end is the same and all that really changes is the means. So whereas in ME either you were a hardass or a diplomat when playing Sith being pragmatic earns you Light side points. You need to be psychotic to get Dark Side. I mean at the end of the Black Talon you capture a Republic admiral and I was the only one of the four to decide to capture the dude for later torture/interrogation/life in political gulag and won the conversation roll. Everybody else was like WTF Y U NO KILL? and I was like "I was just being sensible
"
I'm also slowly getting used to the morality system. It's Mass Effect style where the end is the same and all that really changes is the means. So whereas in ME either you were a hardass or a diplomat when playing Sith being pragmatic earns you Light side points. You need to be psychotic to get Dark Side. I mean at the end of the Black Talon you capture a Republic admiral and I was the only one of the four to decide to capture the dude for later torture/interrogation/life in political gulag and won the conversation roll. Everybody else was like WTF Y U NO KILL? and I was like "I was just being sensible
"
LowParry
Member
That wouldn't surprise me. I've had plenty of PC games with the AA on that improved its performance. Odd as it is.
cvkpaladin
Member
I have an Nvidia card so I did it through Nvidia Inspector following basically the same steps in the guide that was previously posted: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=661597
No idea how to do it with an AMD card though unfortunately. =(
I had a crazy amount of fun with the Black Talon Flashpoint as a sorcerer. Going through the story together with four game strangers was surprisingly amusing.
I'm also slowly getting used to the morality system. It's Mass Effect style where the end is the same and all that really changes is the means. So whereas in ME either you were a hardass or a diplomat when playing Sith being pragmatic earns you Light side points. You need to be psychotic to get Dark Side. I mean at the end of the Black Talon you capture a Republic admiral and I was the only one of the four to decide to capture the dude for later torture/interrogation/life in political gulag and won the conversation roll. Everybody else was like WTF Y U NO KILL? and I was like "I was just being sensible
Same goes for the republic flashpoints. I wanted to see the dark side choices and outcomes, but every single person in all the groups I've been in have always picked light side paths.
It's really funny when people have different choices.
My Sith Jugger is light side. I'm being all nice in a previous conversation, then the bounty hunter murders the person I'm talking to.
I think they could top it off with some reactions based off your alignment.
Interfectum
Member
are there any long lasting effects from going light side/dark side (ie how NPCs treat you, what kind of armor you can wear, changes in character appearance)?
HarryDemeanor
Member
I never get picked for the dark side choices in Esseles. I really want to see how those events go.
BattleMonkey
Member
Different gear is restricted to light/dark alignments. Dark side heavy alignments also get the option of turning on the dark side look on your character. I believe for example Sith can only use green/blue sabers if they are light alignment for example for what I read on the forums as an example of different things that are locked by alignment.
TurtleSnatcher
Member
Can someone explain the conversation point system in Flashpoints with a party?
Didn't get the whole white/red numbers and the values. Likewise sometimes my red high numbers would beat out high white numbers which I would assume were light side choices which should work for my group as we were Jedi's and a Smuggler..
Didn't get the whole white/red numbers and the values. Likewise sometimes my red high numbers would beat out high white numbers which I would assume were light side choices which should work for my group as we were Jedi's and a Smuggler..
Winterblink
Member
My girlfriend and I were playing this weekend, and both of us agreed this was like a totally different game than the previous weekend's beta. Mostly because the client and overall game performance was so damn good by comparison.
I had a Sith Warrior close to leaving Korriban, but rerolled as a Bounty Hunter so that we could play together (she has a BH too). Grouping together to work on Heroic origin content made it staggeringly easy, and we were off the planet in very little time. Hutta seemed a bit more interesting to me than Korriban, as did the BH's starting story compared to the SW's. Maybe it's all the Clone Wars we've been watching lately, but the BH really seems to resonate with us over the forcey types.
Anyway, server stability was rock solid, no lag, no client disconns, etc. I have everything cranked up in the settings and my framerate is butter smooth for me even during combat. We both really liked the option to either take a direct shuttle off of Hutta or go through a full mission to do the trip. We took the mission, and it was something we both really enjoyed doing.
Only poked at he crafting stuff a bit during the weekend, but on initial inspection we both thought the direction they're taking it is different enough to make it interesting. Hopefully there is a decent market throughout the levels of characters to make the crafting system useful to us, it's one of the peeves we had with Rift's. In that game if you're not doing max level items you might as well just vendor trash the items you've made because they just won't sell.
So far though, SWTOR migrated from a maybe-buy from the last beta weekend to a going-to-buy for both of us.
I had a Sith Warrior close to leaving Korriban, but rerolled as a Bounty Hunter so that we could play together (she has a BH too). Grouping together to work on Heroic origin content made it staggeringly easy, and we were off the planet in very little time. Hutta seemed a bit more interesting to me than Korriban, as did the BH's starting story compared to the SW's. Maybe it's all the Clone Wars we've been watching lately, but the BH really seems to resonate with us over the forcey types.
Anyway, server stability was rock solid, no lag, no client disconns, etc. I have everything cranked up in the settings and my framerate is butter smooth for me even during combat. We both really liked the option to either take a direct shuttle off of Hutta or go through a full mission to do the trip. We took the mission, and it was something we both really enjoyed doing.
Only poked at he crafting stuff a bit during the weekend, but on initial inspection we both thought the direction they're taking it is different enough to make it interesting. Hopefully there is a decent market throughout the levels of characters to make the crafting system useful to us, it's one of the peeves we had with Rift's. In that game if you're not doing max level items you might as well just vendor trash the items you've made because they just won't sell.
So far though, SWTOR migrated from a maybe-buy from the last beta weekend to a going-to-buy for both of us.
~sigh~ I had a blue lightsaber I bought because I was lightside, then a quest reward replaced that. Unfortunately, the commendation didn't have a lightside specific saber as opposed to another planet.
Oni Link 666
Member
Woot, I got a lightsaber. Are all the weapons you get from that point on light sabers or do you find vibroblades that replace it? I would like to just keep mine if I wanted to and just upgrade the mods. Maybe get some other Jedi or Sith's lightsaber after killing them. A lightsaber is kind of a special thing in Star Wars. I wouldn't want to replace it with a vibroblade.
BattleMonkey
Member
You just get more lightsabers. Different hilts, crystals, mods
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
Finally got to try it out, but only really had time to try the Sith Inquisitor. Was everything I expected it to be and not to be. Was a lot more pleased with the story/class setup and the combat than I thought I'd be, which is good because I'm sure that's going to be 90% of the game.
The dialog choices really work from a character and quest acquisition standpoint - no, really, they do. I wouldn't have believed it either, but it really manages to get your attention without plodding on and losing it. The pacing in the early content I experienced feels right where it needs to be. Let's face it, none of us want to admit that we're too fucking lazy to read quest text, and then we all bitch about pacing and not feeling invested in killing ten rats; having someone read the quest text to you may be equivalent to having Mommy read to you, but allowing just that small degree of mental laziness really eases the motivation and involvement back into the picture.
So bottom line for me: Most disappointed with the graphics, most pleased with the game's performance and pacing.
I liked Rift, but honestly I like this better already; it feels much more vanilla WoW only more to my personal taste and easier to look at. I'm thinking 3-4 months from me for sure.
The dialog choices really work from a character and quest acquisition standpoint - no, really, they do. I wouldn't have believed it either, but it really manages to get your attention without plodding on and losing it. The pacing in the early content I experienced feels right where it needs to be. Let's face it, none of us want to admit that we're too fucking lazy to read quest text, and then we all bitch about pacing and not feeling invested in killing ten rats; having someone read the quest text to you may be equivalent to having Mommy read to you, but allowing just that small degree of mental laziness really eases the motivation and involvement back into the picture.
So bottom line for me: Most disappointed with the graphics, most pleased with the game's performance and pacing.
I liked Rift, but honestly I like this better already; it feels much more vanilla WoW only more to my personal taste and easier to look at. I'm thinking 3-4 months from me for sure.
What happens if you press N?
Wow, that did it. I was accessing that panel using the graphic UI of it in the bottom left, which also disappeared on me.
Winnie the Pimp
Member
for those that played the beta...
One of the things i value MOST in MMOs or even games in general is the atmosphere of certain levels, places, hubs etc. how is TOR in this regard? From screenshots it often comes across as kinda "sterile"... how is it when playing it though?
One of the things i value MOST in MMOs or even games in general is the atmosphere of certain levels, places, hubs etc. how is TOR in this regard? From screenshots it often comes across as kinda "sterile"... how is it when playing it though?
BattleMonkey
Member
Some of the cities are nice with traffic in the air, ships fly bys, npcs walking around and other little touches. But lot of the quest areas and worlds are full of sterile areas or empty space outside of quest content. If you are looking for lot of stuff to be going on in the background, you will be dissapointed by many parts of the game.
Courscant (sp?) has a lot of traffic and background activity while Tython (sp?) felt very empty.
One problem is the lack of roaming NPCs. They mostly sit around in predetermined areas, with only the occasional NPC wandering around.
The smuggler/trooper starting area, Ord Mantel (sp?) had areas that felt like a war was going on while others were barren of activity.
it's probably my biggest letdown. a portion of the areas are just empty and barren feeling. Each of the worlds that I've played so far has been basically monotone, minus Tython, which was still surprisingly bland for being what it was.
I've looked at all the planets on the website and all but 2-3* are pretty much one color. I am sad panda.
*judging by the screens they've shown - which you could argue are some of the best they can take, being press shots and all
Apparently the 2nd will be the last day Guilds can accept members pre-launch. After that, you'll have to join from the within the game after launch. As such, this is your last chance to join the GAF guilds before Early Access.
PVE East Coast Republic
PVE East Coast Empire
PVP Europe Republic
PVP Europe Empire
PVE East Coast Republic
PVE East Coast Empire
PVP Europe Republic
PVP Europe Empire
I got verbally assaulted for doing a dark side choice in Esseles in a party full of Jedi. Granted, the results were pretty brutal, but hey, its just a game. People thought I killed their kitten or something.
Application sent to The Gaf Empire.
Not great. The game is incredibly sterile. The visual style of the game makes the game seem like an alpha version of Mass Effect, at best.
I will give credit where credit is due, however: this game has the best evil path options of any Bioware game. You can (mostly) be an evil badass in this game, and not just a jerk like in most of their games.
Bland and soulless imo.
Mr. Luchador
Member
Didn't feel it. Going to give it a miss.
TurtleSnatcher
Member
Some areas like Coruscant felt good to me.
Some areas were a bit normal and plane jane.
WarMacheen
Member
argh, cannot log in anymore.
Um, it's almost 4:30 pm est on Monday...so yeah the weekend is over.
Oni Link 666
Member
I'm logged in right now. I thought I read on the forums that it'll be up until 11:59 Central tonight.
The hubs and overworlds are definitely more on the sterile side. What I was surprised by though is how good the dungeons felt. Unique and larger than they need to be to make them feel like they have a purpose other than your romp through them. It leads me to believe that the art and design is there for a realistic feeling world it's just the illusion of a living breathing one by having NPCs around doing realistically mundane things is what is lacking.
Oni Link 666
Member
How did they manage to turn Satele Shan from Jedi hottie in the opening cinematic to ugly old lady in the game? Even the character I made is hotter than her. She needs a new, hotter model that looks more like the CG model.
Giolon
Member
The events in the intro cutscenes all take place decades before the game. In-game, Satele is the Grand Master of the Jedi Council. In the Return cinematic where her master is killed, she was still a Padawan. In the Hope cinematic, she's a Knight.
The game starts out in 3643 BBY. The Sith first returned in 3681 BBY. That makes Satele 38 years older than she was in the intro cutscene. Of course she won't look like a spring chicken anymore, but I think she still looks pretty great.
She even has a son.
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