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[Qwomo]

At least at the time of the original trilogy, Twi'leks weren't really railed against by the Empire. They were near-human enough. The Empire was mostly xenophobic against races that didn't look like humans, like Wookiees or Mon Calamari. Races like Zabrak and Twi'leks were generally allowed to hold Imperial rank.

 

[BattleMonkey]

I always thought the xenophobia thing was a bit weird. Seems odd that the Empire would turn away a majority of the galaxy.

Humans and near human races make up majority of the galaxy really. They have alot of racism but they don't go around completely excluding aliens and committing genocide (usually). Reaching the higher echelons of the various empires in the universe generally was reserved toward more human races with rare exceptions, and until the Legacy era.

They would allow more alien species to have various roles in the Empire still and would play friendly with various alien governments.

 

[CzarTim]

Ah that makes more sense. More post-Civil War South.

 

[CzarTim]

Interesting post on World Size:

A common mistake in MMO design is to pursue worlds and land masses that are ‘realistically’ big. I see this a lot in the press releases and demos of other MMOs, usually indie MMOs trying to make a name for themselves somehow. This is not the design philosophy that we’re following.

What makes a quality gameplay experience is not how much time you spend running through dead space or randomly generated noise, but the density of good experiences. This includes the density not just of quality worldbuilding points of interest and well-crafted quest content, but also in an MMO, the density of player population. MMOs are interesting largely because other people are there. Make your worlds too large and diffuse, and the population is too spread out, and you feel lonely in your MMO – an irony that proves inescapable over time.

Size in MMOs is incredibly deceiving. WoW has a world that feels huge, but in actuality you can run from the northern tip of Azeroth to the southern tip in about 45 minutes – whereas in real life I could barely get to the supermarket in that timeframe. Similarly, if you had a fully 3D rotateable camera in the original Ultima Online, you can see the walls of Trinsic from the southern entrance of Britain – I know this because I know a player did so. This is not to knock these two games – they are great games with great virtual worlds that are sized appropriately for their gameplay.

Our worlds are big – plenty big – but we didn’t use some notion of how big Alderaan really is to make that determination. We instead built a world big enough to feel expansive, but still not so large that we couldn’t ensure that all of the content was handcrafted up to a BioWare level of quality. There’s not as much random empty space for the explorers as some of you seem to be hoping for, but they’re still plenty big, and we take great strides to ensure that the worldbuilding teams fill the worlds with secrets for our explorers to find.

And trust me when I say you can still get plenty lost in Alderaan.

 

[Derwind]

Interesting post on World Size:

I hope he's not lying when he say's "And trust me when I say you can still get plenty lost in Alderaan."

This is exactly my niche in games, I love expansive, open, huge area's in MMO's where I can just explore.

I loved that in EQ, even though I could probably move around Norrath in no time(30mins to n hour) but thats not the point.

You had so many different environments, hidden area's, instances in so many places.

I would walk for a bit, find a cave, walk through the cave, come out in another area, find another cave, keep going(hopefully I'm high enough level that nothing hurts me much), then end up in an entirely different zone.

You could feel the work that the designer put into these areas. Thats what I love.

I will explore the bejeebers out of this game once it comes out and I will hold him to his word and scrutinize the hell out of it.

 

[Shrennin]

Interesting post on World Size:

If what he says is true, then I think this is a good design philosophy to go by. Alderaan, specifically I believe, was said to be about 5-6 WoW zones (which is as big as Northern, I believe?).

 

[Won]

Interesting post on World Size:

Basically they do the WoW approach, which is awesome. Though no idea if "Bioware level of quality" really means something these days.

 

[Spire]

Interesting post on World Size:

I hope this isn't like WoW's recent design philosophy when it comes to world building. Ever since WotLK they've been designing games, not worlds. Every single inch of each zone is used for a quest or has something in it, it's all designed to be a roller coaster you glide along and it ends up not feeling like an actual place but very "gamey" and "designed". The zones have no room to breath, you never get the feeling of "Man, I just love existing in this space". Hopefully SWTOR's planets feel more like actual worlds and less like questing conveyor belts.

Also, feeling alone can be a boon to an area. Take Forochel or Moria from LotRO for example, where being alone out in the frozen wastes or deep down in the caverns gives you an incredible sense of atmosphere and isolation. This whole "make sure every inch is packed with shit" philosophy that a lot of games are taking these days isn't nearly as cool as developers think it is.

 

[CzarTim]

I remember logging into SWG for the first time and deciding to walk to a city half way across the world thinking it'd take 5 mins... one hour later...

It's cool, but most of it was a waste of time. There is a happy median there.

 

[hermit7]

Applied to the Empire guild. Plan on rolling a Sith Inquisitor first as maybe being a healer type.

Name there is Eremites.

 

[eastmen]

I remember logging into SWG for the first time and deciding to walk to a city half way across the world thinking it'd take 5 mins... one hour later...

It's cool, but most of it was a waste of time. There is a happy median there.

Games like SWG had huge worlds for a reason. Crafting resource gathering and housing. You were able to change the face of a planet by building homes and machines for gathering resources

 

[BattleMonkey]

Games like SWG had huge worlds for a reason. Crafting resource gathering and housing. You were able to change the face of a planet by building homes and machines for gathering resources

They made the game huge but still it was too big considering the amount of planets. Really don't think any MMO has ever been as big as SWG in sheer amount of real estate. Most of it was completely wasted with nothing on it though.

Was pretty awful as well when the game launched with no form of personal transportation.

 

[CzarTim]

Games like SWG had huge worlds for a reason. Crafting resource gathering and housing. You were able to change the face of a planet by building homes and machines for gathering resources

I wasn't really dissing it, but a few years in it got annoying (ignoring pre-vehicle patch).

Everyone just hung out in Mos Eisley anyway, and it took 20-30 minutes to get anywhere.

 

[Emitan]

I started playing KotOR last night (and got no sleep :/) and decided to use different characters than normal. Now, after putting a few hours in with Mission, I want to be a Twi'lek Smuggler. I'll never be able to decide what to play. If I stay as a Smuggler, I might spec for healing, since healing actually looks fun in this game.

 

[bjaelke]

It seems a lot of scams are happening in relations to the beta test:

It has come to our attention that there are multiple individuals and sites claiming to sell testing accounts, “beta keys,” or other offers of access to our Game Testing Program. All of these offers are false. BioWare is not issuing invites to Game Testing via any method other than those we outline here on SWTOR.com.

We must caution you that these offers are often scams designed to steal your money, credit card information, or identity. While we understand that you are eager to participate in Game Testing, your security is extremely important, and attempting to participate in these offers could put you in very real danger.

Furthermore, the sale of accounts with access to the Game Testing Program is strictly prohibited by the Game Testing Agreement. We closely monitor the activities of all accounts involved in the Game Testing Program, and are quick to notice accounts that change hands. In the event that an account in the Game Testing Program does change ownership, we immediately take action to the fullest extent possible, including permanently banning the account from the Service.

You may also encounter e-mail scams that indicate you have been invited to the Game Testing Program. If you are invited to the real Game Testing Program, you will receive an e-mail with instructions from no-reply@bioware.swtor.com. Any other e-mail address claiming to offer an invitation is likely to be a scam. If you receive an e-mail and are in doubt or are concerned about its validity, please forward your concerns to bwacommunitysupport@bioware.com. If you do receive a genuine testing invitation from us, you will also be able to view the invitation and testing information at www.swtor.com/tester.

If you discover a scam pretending to offer access to the Game Testing Program, please forward all relevant information to us at bwacommunitysupport@bioware.com. Your security and the security of your fellow community members is important to us, and we appreciate your help.

 

[MaddenNFL64]

On World size, Hoth & Tatooine are pretty big. And there's 20 or so planets, big & small. I can't even imagine expansion planets & such.

edit: wtf, how'd we all decide to post here in the same 5 minute span. So random .

 

[MaddenNFL64]

It seems a lot of scams are happening in relations to the beta test:

That sucks . You'd think people would be hip about thoroughly checking out anything offered on the internet, phishing scams aren't a secret. Ah well, hope it's not too bad.

 

[Emitan]

On World size, Hoth & Tatooine are pretty big. And there's 20 or so planets, big & small. I can't even imagine expansion planets & such.

edit: wtf, how'd we all decide to post here in the same 5 minute span. So random .

There's no such thing as random chance, only the Force.

 

[CzarTim]

The new novel comes out tomorrow. I haven't read a SW book in forever, so I might dive in again with this one.

 

[Emitan]

The new novel comes out tomorrow. I haven't read a SW book in forever, so I might dive in again with this one.

Oh no. I can't get sucked into Star Wars books again. First I buy one of the X-Wing books, next I've read every single Star Wars book in the local book store in less than a week.

 

[bjaelke]

Some clarification on why Quest Trackers in the SWTOR are not revolutionizing but indeed very similar to other recent MMORPGs. In short they are saying 'less time spend looking for something = more time having fun".

Personally I hope they'll add quests which will require lots of manual exploring and with few hints given. These quests should then be slightly more rewarding to make up for the challenge.

 

[Outdoor Miner]

When you accept a quest they should just port you right to where the rats you are being asked to kill are. Less time looking for something and more fun!

 

[MaddenNFL64]

When you accept a quest they should just port you right to where the rats you are being asked to kill are. Less time looking for something and more fun!

Fable 3 does this, but i get the sarcasm. FFXI made everyone read the various wikis, and ask for help constantly. Other MMO's lead you like a lemming to all the content. There should be a medium there.

 

[BattleMonkey]

The new novel comes out tomorrow. I haven't read a SW book in forever, so I might dive in again with this one.

New novel also is not supposed to require having read the first book as it's completely unrelated story/characters so thats good. The first book was not bad, but this looks like it will be much more interesting and have important background instead of a side story like the first novel. The third book coming in the series is also being written by Drew Karpyshyn who was the lead writer of the KOTOR, Mass Effect games, and also is writing for the TOR.

Also the book out today will be available on Kindle yay!

 

[Trickster]

On World size, Hoth & Tatooine are pretty big. And there's 20 or so planets, big & small. I can't even imagine expansion planets & such.

edit: wtf, how'd we all decide to post here in the same 5 minute span. So random .

Man, Hoth looks absolutely amazing. Tatooine on the other hand looks like they wanted to keep to true to the "it's a big fucking desert" theme of the planet, so unless you get some kind of "mount" on the planet, I imagine it will be very boring traversing through the desert.

 

[BattleMonkey]

I was dissapointed that they included Tatooine. Such an over used planet in the franchise and just so boring visual wise.

 

[Vlodril]

I was dissapointed that they included Tatooine. Such an over used planet in the franchise and just so boring visual wise.

Its iconic (tm). I can just imagine the sort of shit storm that would arise if it wasn't one of the worlds.

Does nothing for me either btw.

 

[Spire]

Tatooine and Hoth being used over and over and over makes no sense, considering the only reason they popped up in the OT is because of how remote and uninteresting they were. People went there to hide because nothing was going on there. So of course, every hacky Star Wars thing to follow (including the prequels) has to come up with some retarded reason why it should go back there.

 

[CzarTim]

Let's all go to the TCBY on Dagobah!

 

[Derwind]

Let's all go to the TCBY on Dagobah!

Sorry if I sound ignorant but wtf is TCBY? I'm not familiar with this SW acronym. :/

 

[Qwomo]

The Country's Best Yogurt.

 

[Derwind]

The Country's Best Yogurt.

Thats freaky, I was just on my way out to buy some yogurt. =|

Also, I think we're getting our movie's wrong here, the great and powerful Yogurt was in Space Balls....not Starwars!!

May the schwartz be with you!

 

[CzarTim]

I wish they'd release the voice actors and what parts they play. I want to know if Jennifer Hale is playing one of the main classes.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

I see the GAF alliance guild has built up to 19 people now. Very good.

 

[Anubis]

I'm 99% sure Jennifer Hale is the female Trooper. You can hear her in the class video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09_wDe4xU_c

 

[Jack Random]

I see the GAF alliance guild has built up to 19 people now. Very good.

20 now

 

[Emitan]

I'm 99% sure Jennifer Hale is the female Trooper. You can hear her in the class video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09_wDe4xU_c

<3 Jennifer Hale. This is making me want to alt as a Trooper.

 

[CzarTim]

<3 Jennifer Hale. This is making me want to alt as a Trooper.

Me too. Bad ass!

By the by, 45% of the Republic guild are Jedi Knights -- hope that's not indicative of the game as a whole.

 

[Emitan]

Me too. Bad ass!

By the by, 45% of the Republic guild are Jedi Knights -- hope that's not indicative of the game as a whole.

Still deciding between a healing Scoundrel, a tanking Vanguard, or a crowd control Sage. I wish I had MMO experience so I would know which type of character I like to play.

 

[Doncamatic]

By the by, 45% of the Republic guild are Jedi Knights -- hope that's not indicative of the game as a whole.

It will be, Sith Warriors and Jedi Knights are bound to be the most popular, with bounty hunters coming in third I reckon. That being said trooper is still boss and I look forward to shooting guys.

 

[Derwind]

I think Shadow Consulars will have a lot more CC's, just my hunch. I mean the Sage can already either be a Nuker or a Healer, I think the CC's will be given more to the Shadow Consulars.

Which is what I'm becoming.

Unless I'm wrong and its been revealed that the Sage will in fact have the most CC's of either of the Consular class streams. :shrug

 

[Emitan]

I think Shadow Consulars will have a lot more CC's, just my hunch. I mean the Sage can already either be a Nuker or a Healer, I think the CC's will be given more to the Shadow Consulars.

Which is what I'm becoming.

Unless I'm wrong and its been revealed that the Sage will in fact have the most CC's of either of the Consular class streams. :shrug

I have no idea which is more focused on what. I don't know much about the Shadow, but Sages seem to have a mix of CC and single target spells.

 

[Trickster]

Me too. Bad ass!

By the by, 45% of the Republic guild are Jedi Knights -- hope that's not indicative of the game as a whole.

I hardly think it's surprising that the game is gonna be heavily frontloaded with Sith and Jedi characters running around. I imagine it will even out quickly once the novelty wears off though.

 

[Spire]

Fuck Jedi and anyone with magic powers. Bounty Hunter, Imperial Agent, and Smuggler all the way baby.

 

[antonz]

Bioware themselves have said they expect the game to be very lopsided intiially classes wise before people settle into what they actually want to be

 

[Derwind]

I have no idea which is more focused on what. I don't know much about the Shadow, but Sages seem to have a mix of CC and single target spells.

Well the tree they share has some basic CC's, Healing, Nuke's...ect...

What I'm concerned about is the specialization of the Shadow or Sage subclasses.

I know for a fact that Sage have two skill tree's within their class, one for healing & one for telekinetic(nuker) abilities.

And I think within the telekinetics they'll have rock throwing, some statis ability, some whirlwind levitation abilities but the majority will likely be force push, force throw ect...

I think the Shadow will have some neat CC's, some for organic and some for non-organic.

Who know's really but even if they don't get CC's, I'm still going to roll a Shadow Consular.

 

[CzarTim]

Still deciding between a healing Scoundrel, a tanking Vanguard, or a crowd control Sage. I wish I had MMO experience so I would know which type of character I like to play.

I like that each class isn't locked to one role. I just hope BW keeps them balanced (lulz).

 

[The_Inquisitor]

I like that each class isn't locked to one role. I just hope BW keeps them balanced (lulz).

You know at least one tree for each spec isn't going to be viable at first. Man I hope they have at least some semblance of balancing.

 

[Kintaro]

Me too. Bad ass!

By the by, 45% of the Republic guild are Jedi Knights -- hope that's not indicative of the game as a whole.

Means a good selection of them might be tanks =P I'm sure I put Jedi Knight, but I'm not locked into it. I could easily go Trooper.

 

[Emitan]

Means a good selection of them might be tanks

Oh, how wrong you will be.