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[bjaelke]

Some updates from the playthrough in London:

Companions can replace players in Flashpoints (still max. 4)
No swimming
Titles such as Darth and Lord has to be earned ingame

Impressions

 

[Spire]

I would gladly murder a thousand jedi babies to get "Darth" in front of my name.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Companions can replace players in Flashpoints (still max. 4)

That will be awesome if true, great way to fill in space or make groups when you don't got enough. I assume a player can only bring out one companion and not do a whole flashpoint themselves using just their own companions?

 

[bjaelke]

1 companion per player I'd guess. Just like when you're doing normal quests.

 

[Heysoos]

When does it seem likely to release? :/ I'm pretty hyped for this game, but looking at my schedule for next fall, my time will be very limited. Was hoping I'd get to play a bit before classes start up in fall, but I'm thinking that's very unlikely.

 

[LowParry]

What class would I chose for a support class? Buffs? Debuffs? Minor healing? (Empire)

 

[antonz]

When does it seem likely to release? :/ I'm pretty hyped for this game, but looking at my schedule for next fall, my time will be very limited. Was hoping I'd get to play a bit before classes start up in fall, but I'm thinking that's very unlikely.

End of September the earliest I would guess

 

[bjaelke]

I'm guessing September as well.

What class would I chose for a support class? Buffs? Debuffs? Minor healing? (Empire)

Sith Inquisitor (Sorcerer).

 

[Emitan]

What class would I chose for a support class? Buffs? Debuffs? Minor healing? (Empire)

Probably the Sorcerer.

 

[LowParry]

Sith Inquisitor (Sorcerer).

Ah, very good. After my playthrough with Rift, I really enjoyed playing a Bard so playing the type of class for support would be fun for me. Though I'm still high up on being a Bounty Hunter but we'll see. Though that does give me my options for a main and alt.

 

[Dr. Chaos]

Ah, very good. After my playthrough with Rift, I really enjoyed playing a Bard so playing the type of class for support would be fun for me. Though I'm still high up on being a Bounty Hunter but we'll see. Though that does give me my options for a main and alt.

Bounty Hunter has some support abilities such as healing, I believe. The bodyguard skill tree.

 

[CzarTim]

Some updates from the playthrough in London:

Companions can replace players in Flashpoints (still max. 4)]

This is still in testing from what I gather.

 

[Xiaoki]

Bounty Hunter has some support abilities such as healing, I believe. The bodyguard skill tree.

Imperial Agent - Operative is the other Imperial support class. They heal by shooting darts at party members.

 

[antonz]

This is still in testing from what I gather.

Its still under debate but it shows a difference in builds. PAX build had them removed.

 

[bjaelke]

This is still in testing from what I gather.

Everything is in testing. They keep saying that. It was just an update from the PAX build.

Also this got me very excited:

No, we do not have European servers yet, but they're not that far off.

 

[Mister_Bubbles]

Really like the sound of the Jedi Consular class. I hope their ship design is better than the one on Wookieepedia, however, because it just looks like a giant cock. While that might well be fittingly representative of the Jedi Order, I don't really want to live in one ¬_¬

 

[BattleMonkey]

Be cool if they add additional ships in the future, let players work to earn different designs, as well as making them different for the space portion of the game with unique weapons, stats, handling, etc.

 

[bjaelke]

This is the Jedi Consular ship: CORELLIAN DEFENDER-CLASS LIGHT CORVETTE

 

[BattleMonkey]

I like it. Mix of the republic transports seen in the prequels and the hammer head style of cruisers/frigates used in the old republic era of the Republic navy.

 

[SmokinGunZ1981]

That's a nice looking ship, if you take away the engines at the back the back end then begins to look alot like the YT-1300.

 

[Mister_Bubbles]

Ah cool, figured the Corvette was just for the Jedi Knights. That'll do nicely!

 

[BattleMonkey]

Ah cool, figured the Corvette was just for the Jedi Knights. That'll do nicely!

Believe Consular and Knights use the same ship. The two siths apparently get the same ship as well. Theres 6 player class ships, the other classes each have a unique ship but the 2 force users on each side apparently get the same ship.

 

[Mister_Bubbles]

Believe Consular and Knights use the same ship. The two siths apparently get the same ship as well. Theres 6 player class ships, the other classes each have a unique ship but the 2 force users on each side apparently get the same ship.

Fair enough - seeing as it's only mentioned on the Jedi Knight part of the website, I figured Consulars must have something different as it looks a bit 'rough n' ready' for a Consular vessel, but perhaps that's just me. Looks pretty good anyhow, thanks for the info

 

[Yasae]

I like it. Mix of the republic transports seen in the prequels and the hammer head style of cruisers/frigates used in the old republic era of the Republic navy.

Still a bit oblong cock-ish, but eh..........

 

[CzarTim]

Still a bit oblong cock-ish, but eh..........

Along with their lightsabers, it's clear they're compensating for something.

 

[Yasae]

Along with their lightsabers, it's clear they're compensating for something.

I'd have a couple Death Stars constantly bumping into each other were I part of the Empire

Spoiler

and they gave you neato ships.

 

[Emitan]

I'm getting concerned. This game is getting closer and closer to release and there's still been no footage of the Sarlac Enforcer. Are they delaying the class until an expansion?

 

[CzarTim]

I'm getting concerned. This game is getting closer and closer to release and there's still been no footage of the Sarlac Enforcer. Are they delaying the class until an expansion?

You need to collect holocrons to unlock it.

 

[Roude Leiw]

I'm getting concerned. This game is getting closer and closer to release and there's still been no footage of the Sarlac Enforcer. Are they delaying the class until an expansion?

when is the release date?

 

[bjaelke]

July-December 2011.

And no more classes are getting announced.

 

[Baller. PhD]

You need to collect holocrons to unlock it.

oh fuck me

 

[Dr. Chaos]

Some updates from the playthrough in London:

Companions can replace players in Flashpoints (still max. 4)
No swimming
Titles such as Darth and Lord has to be earned ingame

Impressions

Nice.

Hopefully you can program them to chastise and berate you during and after the flashpoints to complete the MMO partying experience.

 

[Mister_Bubbles]

Nice.

Hopefully you can program them to chastise and berate you during and after the flashpoints to complete the MMO partying experience.

Having your companion ninja loot off other players would be amazing :lol

 

[bjaelke]

Nice.

Hopefully you can program them to chastise and berate you during and after the flashpoints to complete the MMO partying experience.

I imagine something ala Dragon Age with all its macros. Daniel Erickson elaborated a bit on the whole 4 players/companion Flashpoint discussion:

- Party size in the game right now is four, which includes CCs. This is also true in Flashpoints. This does not mean having two people and their CCs is the same as having four people. CCs are powerful but they are not the same as having smart humans nor are they equal in power. So on a less difficult Flashpoint with amazing players or players that had a couple extra levels it’s likely possible to two man or three man them but I will say that when Alex and I tried to two-man the Heroics on Dromund Kaas with our CCs we got stomped flat. And, you know, I’ve been playing this game a while. Most important to remember: All of these rules can and likely will change in the future. And yes sometimes they’ll change week to week if there’s a new build during that time. This is what testing is about.

He also answered a lot of other questions on the forum which I will not quote (long text): http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=5987118#edit5987118

 

[Emitan]

I imagine something ala Dragon Age with all its macros. Daniel Erickson elaborated a bit on the whole 4 players/companion Flashpoint discussion:


He also answered a lot of other questions on the forum which I will not quote (long text): http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=5987118#edit5987118

We actually get rewarded for exploring the worlds? hype++

 

[bjaelke]

Yeah, I can see my self spending an awful lot of time looking for holocrons!

I don't get the obsession people have with swimming in the game. No matter how many times I go through the threads on the forum I still can't see the reason to have it implemented. I mean, so many game mechanics would have to be altered just for such a insignificant feature.

 

[vertopci]

Did they mention anything about an open beta yet?

 

[antonz]

Did they mention anything about an open beta yet?

True full fledged closed beta hasnt even started. Just Play test groups

 

[LowParry]

Did they mention anything about an open beta yet?

No. However there is E3.

 

[darth_infamous]

I imagine something ala Dragon Age with all its macros.

Not likely

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=5179264#edit5179264

 

[bjaelke]

Not likely

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=5179264#edit5179264

That's in open world. If they have to substitute a player in a Flashpoint, then I expect more freedom to program them + CCs in Flashpoints is a new addition so maybe they have changed the settings.

 

[Trouble]

Yeah, I can see my self spending an awful lot of time looking for holocrons!

I don't get the obsession people have with swimming in the game. No matter how many times I go through the threads on the forum I still can't see the reason to have it implemented. I mean, so many game mechanics would have to be altered just for such a insignificant feature.

I thought I didn't give a damn about day/night cycles, the no swimming announcement has shown me how much more I can not give a damn.

 

[Derwind]

Yeah, I can see my self spending an awful lot of time looking for holocrons!

I don't get the obsession people have with swimming in the game. No matter how many times I go through the threads on the forum I still can't see the reason to have it implemented. I mean, so many game mechanics would have to be altered just for such a insignificant feature.

To be honest, I really don't care about swimming, beyond that its a nice novelty. But I have to ask, what do you mean in the BOLDED. Exactly how many game mechanics would have to be altered and what are they?

Beyond getting the swimming animation right, it'd be only slight different from the aspect of jumping in this MMO, I think? Right.

Night & Day cycles would be nice. Seeing the binary stars on Tatooine set is quite an iconic scene if I remember correctly.

But again, its not the end of the world that its not in the game.

Btw, to answer the obsession thing, people a really, really into immersion. These fluff features that can easily be brought out through future patches, expansions and digital downloads are something that some people really, really enjoy.

And well, it'd be pretty embarrassing if ToR couldn't functionally handle putting features like swimming and day/night cycles. I mean games like EQ and LotRO did these things with much more primitive platforms and a whole lot less funding.

What I am totally against with fluff features is fishing. This is self explanatory....

Otherwise, I don't really care about any of these fluff features, just playing devils advocate.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

God why the fuck have they not even hinted a release date yet?

And no new apps to Republic guild. Come on son!

 

[bjaelke]

To be honest, I really don't care about swimming, beyond that its a nice novelty. But I have to ask, what do you mean in the BOLDED. Exactly how many game mechanics would have to be altered and what are they?

Mostly combat.

How would (2-handed) lightsabers work? What about heavy armor classes? Surely they would sink right away? Would enemies follow you into the water as well or would you be able to pull them to edge and then shoot them from the water? What about companions and their lack of swimming (droids in particular)? Well these are the more obvious ones coming from someone who hasn't played the game yet.

Edit: It was actually pointed out by Erickson:

Swimming will not be in TOR for ship. It is not a 'free feature' we turned off and is actually a huge amount of animation, pathfinding and AI work. Either every creature in the game needs to have water moving/fighting animations and AI to handle 3D movement or combat has to stop in the water with all the AI craziness that having safe zones you can jump in and out of entails. We have nothing against swimming but it’s never going to outrank improving combat, Companion AI or any of our other core features.

 

[Derwind]

Mostly combat.

How would (2-handed) lightsabers work? What about heavy armor classes? Surely they would sink right away? Would enemies follow you into the water as well or would you be able to pull them to edge and then shoot them from the water? What about companions and their lack of swimming (droids in particular)? Well these are the more obvious ones coming from someone who hasn't played the game yet.

Edit: It was actually pointed out by Erickson:

But you do realize swimming mechanics are not a whole new revolutionary feature. This is a standard since, well since the earliest MMO I've ever played EQ. Maybe even earlier.

Generally though weapons shouldn't be utilized in the water. Enemy & Companion Characters should also follow the same animation/conditions your character suffers when swimming in water. Its not like they have to work on completely different programming steps when involving CC's & Enemies. Since when does armor need to be addressed, is that really an important detail that someone would notice? Even so, you could make swimming slower for heavier armored characters rather than have them sink to address the issue of weight in water.

Just saying, swimming mechanics aren't exactly new. If much older, lower budget, primitive games could do it, its kind of sad for something like ToR to have such a huge problem with it.

I don't know, I mean they pull of creating a space shooter which to me seems like the more difficult feature to implement and then swimming is a no-go.

Bah, seriously though, no one is going to swim much anyways. Reiterating my earlier feelings, I don't care about these fluff features much. It would be interesting to have but at the end of the day, not something I'd cry over.

edit:

Well from Daniel Erickson's words, he pretty much answered my question. Its not that they are saying it would be hard to implement the feature but their core features come first.

Thats what I was trying to figure out. I mean, it shouldn't be too difficult to approach but it should be put to last if they ever want to have it in-game. And I totally agree with that.

 

[Orgun]

I'm always disappointed when I hear there is no swimming in a game because I love exploring underwater and fighting in underwater dungeons.

 

[Mister_Bubbles]

-There are light side and dark side icons on the dialogue wheel if you are using the mouse. If you are using number keys to pick dialogue options, you’ll never see them. So if you hate the idea of choosing wrong, you’re going to be a mouse user for dialogue. If you hate the idea of hand holding you’ll be a number key player. Best of both worlds.

Awesome.

 

[bjaelke]

But you do realize swimming mechanics are not a whole new revolutionary feature. This is a standard since, well since the earliest MMO I've ever played EQ. Maybe even earlier.

Generally though weapons shouldn't be utilized in the water. Enemy & Companion Characters should also follow the same animation/conditions your character suffers when swimming in water. Its not like they have to work on completely different programming steps when involving CC's & Enemies. Since when does armor need to be addressed, is that really an important detail that someone would notice? Even so, you could make swimming slower for heavier armored characters rather than have them sink to address the issue of weight in water.

Just saying, swimming mechanics aren't exactly new. If much older, lower budget, primitive games could do it, its kind of sad for something like ToR to have such a huge problem with it.

I don't know, I mean they pull of creating a space shooter which to me seems like the more difficult feature to implement and then swimming is a no-go.

Bah, seriously though, no one is going to swim much anyways. Reiterating my earlier feelings, I don't care about these fluff features much. It would be interesting to have but at the end of the day, not something I'd cry over.

edit:

Well from Daniel Erickson's words, he pretty much answered my question. Its not that they are saying it would be hard to implement the feature but their core features come first.

Thats what I was trying to figure out. I mean, it shouldn't be too difficult to approach but it should be put to last if they ever want to have it in-game. And I totally agree with that.

First of all, I never said it would be hard or difficult to implement. Just that many things would have to be changed in order for it to work properly = time consuming. I listed some of those which I think would come up as issues if swimming were to be implemented. And yes the whole armor thing would become a big debate. I guess slowing them down by x % would be a solution, but don't tell me it wouldn't look stupid if this guy was to swim around with that gun.

The argument "because X had it then SWTOR can have it" doesn't really work. In my opinion they need to justify having swimming in the game with more than just a few stupid underwater (gather) quests. WoW somewhat adressed this issue by having the druid's quest line lead through the water - quite ironically that was to obtain the water form, which never became useful afterwards. And that brings me back to SWTOR. What do we gain from added swimming? If it's just a few gather quests and some holocrons then I'd rather they focus on the other things and ship the game.

With all that said, I'm certain we'll see swimming implemented in an expansion that also includes Naboo. Not that I'm looking forward to it, but it's almost a certainty.

 

[Kintaro]

Ugh, just got a kick in the ass regarding this game. A lot of the guys who did Warhammer are also working in key positions on this game. Including PVP. If anyone remembers Warhammer Online (and currently Rift's shitty PVP and changes affecting PVE badly), I can't help but frown at this news.

Knowing this, at least I know going in not to get too attached to my class...