Star Wars: The Old Republic - Part 1

[Destructus86]

Then maybe they shouldn't have played it so "safe".

Safe is boring.

 

[zenith16]

Star Wars: The Old Republic Terror from Beyond operation will have TOR’s biggest monster yet





Comments 14
at 04:31pm September 3 2012
As a wise talking pistachio nut once said “if a scary portal you have constructed, build a remote off switch into it you must.” Poor Yoda, if only he wasn’t so tiny and ridiculous more galactic empires might listen. As it is, the Dread Masters have activated an ancient portal called the Hypergate, and now it’s spewing a tide of monsters into the universe at a rate of five Shuggoths a minute. Who will stop them? YOU, in the latest Operation to be added in Star Wars: The Old Republic update 1.4.


Source: pc gamer

 

[Jennifer Walters]

When this goes free to play is there going to be a need to buy the disc or will there be a free download available somewhere?

 

[Soapy]

Download.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

Good. I know they did that with DC Universe, but I was just making sure I didn't have to run out to Target and spend 15 dollars because then that's not really Free to Play is it.

 

[zenith16]

BioWare dev blog talks SWTOR's 1.4 balance changes

(1 hour ago)
Sci-fi, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic
23

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BioWare senior designer Austin Peckenpaugh has a tough job. Star Wars: The Old Republic's class gameplay balance is basically his responsibility, and as such he's penned a new dev blog intended to keep players in the loop on the upcoming changes in game update 1.4.

The patch looks to be an extensive one in terms of gameplay tweaks, and Peckenpaugh has plenty to say on crowd control and resolve changes, ability adjustments, and changes to SWTOR's stealth gameplay.

Read all about it at the official SWTOR website.

• Source: Dev blog
• More coverage: Official site

 

[zenith16]

SWTOR's 1.4 patch live on public test server today

(2 minutes ago)
Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic
0

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Last week BioWare gave us a sneak preview of Star Wars: The Old Republic's 1.4 update via a lengthy dev blog. This week we get to try out the patch proper on the game's public test server.

The 1.4 update features the new Terror from Beyond operation as well as new weapons and armor, group finder tweaks, and facial emotes and associated slash commands. You'll need a pre-existing PTS character, and you can leave your testing feedback on the official forums.

• Source: Announcement
• More coverage: Official site

 

[zenith16]

BioWare testing new high-population server tech for SWTOR

(19 hours ago)
Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic
91

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BioWare is working on something called "high-population server tech" for Star Wars: The Old Republic. A new posting on the game's official website claims that the new stuff "will allow us to significantly increase current server populations."

The company is putting out a call for testers, and all characters from East Coast servers have already been copied to a new public test server that is available starting today. Full instructions for logging in and testing can be found on the official site.

• Source: Announcement
• More coverage: Official site

 

[zenith16]

Star Wars: The Old Republic livestream discusses free-to-play, HK-51, and scaling

(23 hours ago) well it's not really live any more but still viewable.



Sci-fi, Video, Game mechanics, Patches, Previews, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Community Q&A
28

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The community team behind Star Wars: The Old Republic hosted a livestream, and as you can probably imagine, the whole session has been recorded already by the team from Darth Hater for your viewing pleasure. But if you want to know the highlights and you can't wait for a more detailed take (say, from next week's Hyperspace Beacon), you can always get the rundown of some of the bigger points from the half-hour session.

For those currently playing, HK-51 can be expected before the end of the year, with Cathar getting a somewhat more ambiguous release of whenever the species is ready. There will also be other species to be unlocked when the free-to-play conversion goes live, along with moddable gear (without endgame stats), mounts, and pets. The team is also looking into implementing a hood toggle for the Force-using classes of the game and scaling content down in difficulty for smaller groups of players. Check out the full recording past the break, or just take a look at the highlights. Continue Reading

• Source: Livestream Q&A notes
• More coverage: Official Site

 

[zenith16]

Star Wars: The Old Republic kicks off meeting the developers with Jesse Sky

(15 hours ago)
Sci-fi, Interviews, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic
13

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Like every MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic is not a game produced by a single person. The community team behind the game has kicked off what promises to be a series of articles introducing the developers, starting with the lead Flashpoint and Operations designer Jesse Sky. Like BioWare's similar articles for other franchises, the interview is a mix of questions about Star Wars: The Old Republic and questions about who Sky is as a person.

Sky goes on record as mentioning that he sees designing Flashpoints as similar to designing an adventure for a tabletop game, with the story choices having a major impact on how the instance is paced out. There's also a science to making sure that the encounters are designed to be challenging while at the same time not insurmountable. If you'd like to know more about one of the minds behind the game's content, check out the full interview, and perhaps throw a few more questions into the official discussion thread.

GDC Online 2012: SWTOR's Damion Schubert dissects story as a mechanic

(1 minute ago)
Sci-fi, Meridian 59, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Endgame, Opinion, Shadowbane, Free-to-play, Massively Event Coverage, Star Wars: The Old Republic
0

Damion Schubert remains a well-respected member of the online development community. He can tell tales of his time working on Meridian 59 and Shadowbane. His latest project allowed him to build many of the integral systems of Star Wars: The Old Republic, arguably his most successful work to date. He also writes regularly for Game Developer Magazine and speaks at GDC Online and many other game development conferences nearly every year. When it comes to developers who have shaped mulitiplayer online games, Schubert is one of the originals.

At the Game Developers Conference in Austin, Texas, this week, Schubert spent an hour explaining the thought process and development woes of taking an element like BioWare storytelling and making it work in a massively multiplayer setting. This being the first GDC Online since the launch of SWTOR, Schubert spoke frankly and openly about many of the struggles his team had to overcome to make the gaming systems work. Some of the ideas worked out well; others, not so well.

As an avid player of SWTOR, I saw new light. As I listened to Schubert speak, I began to understand why many players are frustrated with elements of the existing game. I also began to understand that if some of the systems and thought processes has been changed early on, players might have received the game better. That said, I also believe that Schubert's team prevented a lot of issues that could have popped up had certain elements been implemented in the way they were originally conceived. Continue Reading

• Source: Jesse Sky interview
• More coverage: Official Site

 

[zenith16]

GDC Online 2012: SWTOR, Diablo III, Koster honored in GDC Online awards

(1 hour ago)
World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic, League of Legends, Diablo III
28

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Wednesday night saw the Game Developers Choice Online awards being handed out to MMO, social, mobile, and free-to-play games. Star Wars: The Old Republic came away with the awards for best online game design, best online visual arts, best online technology, and best new online game. Riot Games won for best live game, the audience award, and best community relations for League of Legends.

Raph Koster was officially recognized with an online game legend award, and World of Warcraft received a hall of fame award. Blizzard also scored with Diablo III, receiving an award for having the best audio for an online game. The award for best social network game went to Draw Something, and thatgamecompany won an online innovation award for Journey.

Massively sent two plucky game journalists -- Beau Hindman and Karen Bryan -- to Austin, Texas, for this year's GDC Online, where they'll be reporting back on MMO trends, community theory, old favorites, and new classics. Stay tuned for even more highlights from the show!
Source: GDC Online Awards

 

[X Knight]

so is this free to play yet?

and if I buy it retail now for $15, do I get one month free of access time?

 

[zenith16]

Yeah, it's been free 2play for a little while now. That latter part I 'll leave for the retailers to tell you . But you should be able to jump in easy. after you created your character. if you have trouble finding it at retailers you should try online ones like steam or direct2drive or Ea's origin .

 

[X Knight]

oh, thanks.

so, really, there's no real reason to buy it retail anymore, now that it's free 2 play?

 

[zenith16]

only if they don't have in there shelves or "other wise in stock." Check with them, if they don't have them at all, try the alternatives i suggested . Even ebay if you must but the others before that latter first.

 

[X Knight]

thanks.

 

[zenith16]

your welcome.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

I'm not so sure it's free to play though. I go to download it and it just gives me a free to play trial.

 

[Tanin]

I'm not so sure it's free to play though. I go to download it and it just gives me a free to play trial.

It is not free to play yet. There is a to level 15 up now but the play to 50 isn't til later.

No announcement as to when yet

 

[zenith16]

It is not free to play yet. There is a to level 15 up now but the play to 50 isn't til later.

No announcement as to when yet

that is some what true,but they've been saying this more like the beginning stages, But it wont be long cause bioware will have to do it cause they said they are headed there them selves any way. an d they still want costumers. they're just most likely setting up their model of it(f2P) still. plus there's this.


GDC Online 2012: F2P is the platform of the future

(2 hours ago)
Business models, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Massively Event Coverage, Miscellaneous
47

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Free-to-play. That single word elicits some strong emotions when uttered in the MMO gaming community, emotions generating declarations of genre fidelity to spurts of vitriol. It's definitely a love/hate hot topic. And according to market trends presented at GDC Online 2012, free-to-play is not going anywhere. Not only has F2P got its foot in the market share's door, but it's kicked that door down and is moving in.

During the presentation, titled Free-to-Play Market Trends and Metrics, Dr. Joost van Dreunen explored the recent market performance of the free-to-play genre and shared predictions about the future. As Managing Director at Superdata Research (a company that specializes in research on entertainment media and consumer technologies), van Dreunen has a wealth of market data at his disposal. He also teaches a course in media theory in games at NYU and will be adding economics for game developers next term. These are his thoughts on the state of free-to-play today and in the future. Continue Reading







On another topic on Swtor



SWTOR's Game Update 1.5 hits the public test server

(34 minutes ago)
Sci-fi, Patches, Star Wars: The Old Republic
2

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After recently winning four GDC Online awards earlier this week, BioWare rides the enthusiasm train a bit longer by releasing new content on the public test server today.

Game Update 1.5 introduces us to Section X, a fresh area to explore on the prison world of Belsavis. You can also earn the final pieces of the Dread Guard gear set in the new Operation: Explosive Conflict. And of course, what update wouldn't be complete without the addition of a new buddy? HK-51 is an assassination droid companion available to those who explore the derelict ship wreckage beneath the icy surface of Belsavis.

Take note that character cloning and full support are not available with this update, so BioWare encourages all players to use the Public Test Server forum with any questions or concerns you may have with the new content.

• Source:Massively& SWTOR News
• coverage: SWTOR official site

 

[zenith16]

SWTOR delineates restrictions on F2P players

(20 minutes ago)

Sci-fi, Business models, Previews, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic
0

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Inevitably, the first question anyone asks in the wake of a free-to-play conversion is about how much a person can get for the price of nothing. Previously, Star Wars: The Old Republic had posted an explanation of the many ways free players would get only limited access, but an updated chart makes the exact limitations clear.

As a general rule, the restrictions are in threes: three Flashpoints per week, three Warzones per week, three Space Missions per week. Players will also be able to buy weekly passes for these features to get unlimited access. There will also be restrictions on inventory expansions and cargo hold storage for free players, and field revivals on death will be limited. Taking a look at the full chart should make the breakdown obvious (although there's a believed typo under the restrictions on equipping items). Meanwhile, current subscribers can take advantage of a new account feature to see just how many bonus coins they'll get if they're subscribed when the conversion takes place.

[Thanks to Marc for the tip!]

• Source: Free vs. Paid feature chart, Coin reward preview
• More coverage: Official Site

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Limiting field revivals? Seriously? Just read the full list. Hahahaha, guess I won't be playing again once it goes F2P

 

[zenith16]

Man some people really don't get there is a "recession" and how F2P will for them while that's happening. cause some people only do sub's for so long. and can't shell money like they used to any more. Oh well who ever is the finance person on EA is blithering fool. he/ she just killed this game for their publishing house there.

 

[zenith16]

Still the worst free to play plan ever.(so far)But here's more on it.





Star Wars: The Old Republic transmits free-to-play video

(7 minutes ago)
Sci-fi, Video, Business models, Free-to-play, Star Wars: The Old Republic
0

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The race toward free-to-play is gaining momentum for Star Wars: The Old Republic. BioWare's been talking the transition up quite a bit lately, and has just released a new video giving players an overview of the differences once the change is made.

While most of it is old news to those following the game, there are a few new tidbits worth noting here. One of these is clarification on character creation restrictions; BioWare revealed that the three free-to-play races are Human, Cyborg, and Zabrak.

Previous subscribers are targeted for hugs and love with the F2P transition, as BioWare is not only granting them instant preferred status but also handing them currency to spend in the Cartel Market. Speaking of which, the market is briefly shown in the video with the following categories: featured, newly added, packs, cosmetic, unlocks, equipment, and consumables.

Check out the video after the jump and let us know -- are you going back to SWTOR for F2P? Continue Reading

• Source: F2P preview #1
• More coverage: SWTOR official site

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Limiting races. Makes sense :