Star Wars: The Old Republic announced

[TiLT]

It would be easier to just drop the T and say SWOR.

[CeeKay]

the conversation system.  not surprisingly it resembles Mass Effects system.

[Blackjack]

At Comic-Con:

SDCC 2009: Behind the Scenes - Star Wars: The Old Republic
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/bioware-mmo-project/1007498p1.html

Story

But each story has to be self-contained and be entertaining in its own right, with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

The way we do that is make sure that each class has its own role within the universe. If you want to know the story of the underworld during the Old Republic, then you're going to play a smuggler, or a bounty hunter. If you want to know the role of the military, and what it's like to be on the front lines, and to deal with the hierarchy within the Republic, and generally carry a big gun, then you've got the trooper."

"If you took all of our stories, and stitched them together like a movie, the closest comparison would be like Pulp Fiction. You'd play a little bit, and be like, "what was that all about?" and 40 hours later you'd be like, "Ohhhh, that's what that was all about!"

"It would be like the G-rated Pulp Fiction, of course." 

Smugglers

""Let's make something clear: smugglers are not normal people. They're the best shots in the galaxy, they have lightning fast reflexes, and you never see them coming until it's too late. ...

Smuggler stories are unique because smugglers don't consult the Jedi council. They don't get their orders from Republic High Command. They don't sit in on Senate meetings. They're creatures of the underground. They're dealing with crime lords, and bounty hunters, and slavers, and the worst scum and villainy in the galaxy.

...
"If you want to go more Lando, then there's going to be a path for you, and you can end up with the super pimped-out cape."

Blah blah blah

"This is an MMO. We're going to make sure that we are competitive with AAA MMOs and will have those secondary activities that are not just your current class story, that are not just your combat and progression. There will be crafting, there will be trading, there will be all sorts of those things. We call them secondary systems, but they're built for the downtime. We want to make sure that we support guilds. We want to make sure that we support all of those things that actually make this a social experience, that don't make this just about your single-player play experience.

"One of the things I'm really proud of, is the hook is really short. With BioWare games, I usually sort of slog through the first two or three hours until I'm immersed in the story.

I found that all the storylines that we've done so far have a really short hook. Twenty, thirty minutes and you're in. You know everything that's going on with your story and you're ready to sit there and play one of those seven- or eight-hour sessions all night long and be late to work in the morning."

[TiLT]

the conversation system.  not surprisingly it resembles Mass Effects system.

I like what they're doing with the system, but they still manage to mess up the setting with every video they show off. Grand Moff? Seriously? Tarkin was the first Grand Moff, thousands of years later. Up until then they only had Moffs. Moffs had administrative control over a section of space, for example a solar system. Grand Moffs were introduced (by Tarkin) as a way to deal with an Alliance tactic where they jumped out of combat and into a different Moff's sector, making the pursuers have to jump through hoops of red tape or break off the chase. Grand Moffs oversee a large amount of Moffs, so if someone wants to chase someone into another Moffs territory, they only have to deal with the Grand Moff.

</geek cap>

[Blackjack]

IGN also did a Q&A with ze producers (Dallas Dickinson, senior content producer at BioWare Austin, and Jake Neri, producer at LucasArts):

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Exhaustive Q&A
http://pc.ign.com/articles/100/1007266p1.html
They aren't discussing PvP details just yet but do plan to offer it; space combat is also not yet up for discussion. For a Q&A, there's an awful lot of "can't discuss that yet"s, but there is some useful detail.

Healing

IGN: A lot of people wanted to know about the healing system. Will The Old Republic use a trinity system; the tank, healer, and the DPS class. Will the healer play a massive role, or will groups be able to go with no healing?

Dallas Dickinson: We want to make sure that we have many, many MMO roles filled there, but it's really important to us that players are able to actually play their experience either as a group or as a solo. So there are a number of ways that healing comes into the game. Several of our classes have healing branches that they can follow that will have some specific healing powers, but we don't want to make it a requirement for the base core game. That said, you're obviously going to be better off, especially when you get into higher-level stuff and into PvP, if you have healers on your side.

Jake Neri: I think we have a unique sort of twist on how healing works. I don't think we're speaking in total detail about it, but I think the people will be excited for it, and it's definitely a unique function of our game.

Getting away from WoW-itis  

IGN: How will The Old Republic differentiate itself from the WoW formula of leveling, grinding the same encounters of enemies, raiding the same encounters of enemies until everyone has the same loot and we quit until more content is added? [talk about jaded-bj  ]

Dallas Dickinson: One of our key differentiators is story, right? [It's] the degree to which we are making this a truly cinematic storytelling experience for the players. We've talked all about adding this pillar of story to the MMORPG. And so we're going to be hitting that with all barrels. It's one of the things that makes the game compelling not just the first time through, but makes it replayable; because you can play through as one of our Republic-side characters, and then just start again and have no shared content when you play as a Sith-side character.

Combat mechanics

IGN: Will there be differences between the Sith and the Jedi combat mechanics?

Dallas Dickinson: Without going into details, sure, yes. All of our classes have slightly different combat mechanics; they have to in order to play interestingly and in order to play as iconic as those classes can be. The ones that we've revealed thus far--and I think we showed at E3--the bounty hunter plays distinctly different from the smuggler. The smuggler is a cover-based class. The same is true of the trooper, another revealed class thus far. And as we reveal the further classes, we're going to give details on how they play, and once folks get their hands on them they'll understand, yeah, they all have slightly different mechanics or in some cases widely different mechanics, dependent upon what serves the fantasy of that role best.

....
IGN: Speaking of combat, the cinematic system is cool but this is not a twitch game. You don't have to worry about having the reflexes of a 13-year-old.

Dallas Dickinson: Yeah, like we said, this is still RPG mechanics. In an RPG versus an action game or a first-person shooter, we're relying on your statistics, your gear, [and] your abilities. Obviously there is an element of skill, as anyone who is as terrible at PVP as I am can attest to. Some guy could have the exact same gear and the exact same abilities as you and he could own you. But against a monster or a humanoid enemy you're going to do just as well, or relatively well, based upon your RPG stats.

Jetpacks

IGN: There are a lot of questions about jetpacks; people love bounty hunters and jetpacks. Do you guys envision jet packs?

Jake Neri: I think we've actually shown in the gameplay footage of the bounty hunter that yeah, there are abilities that utilize the jetpack. The one that was called out specifically during E3 was the Death From Above power, where you actually jet up, shoot down at your enemies and then release a couple of rockets to knock them down. It's very much reminiscent of Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones.

[Blackjack]

It's funny - I was all agog about the IGN Q&A, and Penny Arcade's Tycho was citing it as a reason for Bioware to basically shut up about the game until they have something new to show and are willing to do more than keep saying "we're not talking about that yet" in interviews.  And, I guess I can see that too.

Good grief, I've posted so much here, you'd think I was Ceekay. Ceekay! Get in here and clear my name off of some of the "last posts" in the MMO threads.  

[Blackjack]

Joystiq has tidbit about The Old Republic getting its first live demo at the Penny Arcade expo...
http://www.joystiq.com/tag/Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic/

LucasArts will showcase the first stateside live demo of Star Wars: The Old Republic and sponsor a cantina for community members to meet various staff and developers.

No doubt it will be along the lines of...

Fan A: "Will we be able to
Lucasarts: "We can't talk about that yet."
Fan B: "Since the demo has that type of equipment, does that mean it
Lucasarts: "It's too early to say!"
Fan C: "I was hoping I could be a
Lucasarts: "We haven't announced all the other classes yet."
Fan D: "I'm excited about the opportunity to be a
Lucasarts: "We can't confirm that yet. It's just conjecture!"
Fan E: "Is it like
Lucasarts: "That would be speculation at this point."
Fan F: "I want to know if
Lucasarts: "Situation cloudy, try back later!"
Ya know, like conversing with a Magic 8-Ball...

I hope I'm wrong...  

[Blackjack]

Oy, there's a new dev diary post about the Smuggler...
Developer Blog: Creating the Smuggler
http://www.swtor.com/news/article/20090807_001

No movies, but there is a neat character model image there.

[Blackjack]

The ballyhooed "1st public demo of this" is scheduled for the Penny Arcade Expo on Saturday, Sept. 5, fwiw...
http://www.paxsite.com/schedule.php

Saturday, [Sept. 5] 3:30pm - 4:30pm, Main Theatre
Star Wars: The Old Republic live demonstration
On Saturday at 3pm in the Main Theatre BioWare and LucasArts will present the first-ever live public demo of The Old Republic in the United States. Make sure to get in line early because there will be exclusives galore for attendees only.

I'm not attending, but thought I'd mention it. Maybe someone here is and can get some scoop and "exclusives."  

If you miss it though, there is also...

Sunday [Sept. 6], 11:00am - 12:00pm, Main Theatre
Star Wars: The Old Republic live demonstration [second showing]
BioWare and LucasArts present their second live public demo of The Old Republic at PAX. Make sure to get in line early because there will be exclusives galore for attendees only.

I might actually look into their new PAX East in Boston, as my best friend lives there. It's March 26-28, Fri.-Sun., 2010, so I think that would work for me and give me a good reason to visit my buddy for a couple days. And if I go (a big IF), heck, I could do some "coverage" for GT, no charge.  

Turbine is based in Westwood, MA, near Boston, so I have no doubt they would make an appearance esp. if they have an LOTRO expansion or update to hawk at that time.

[CeeKay]

they need to do a PAX mid-America.

[Vinda-Lou]

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[CeeKay]

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...

[Hotfreak]

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...

And THAT, my friends, is how over 23k posts is achieved!

[Blackjack]

Where's the ellipsis moderator!!!!???  

[Blackjack]

Sith Warrior Class Reveeeeeeeeealed.... (in interview, no official page at site yet)

Star Wars: The Old Republic Updated Q&A - The Sith Warrior
http://gamescom.gamespot.com/story/6215526/star-wars-the-old-republic-updated-qanda-the-sith-warrior

James Ohlen: At E3, we did show off a Sith, and today, we are revealing that the Sith that was shown at E3 was specifically the Sith Warrior. Darth Vader was the primary inspiration for the this character class. [Probably the class has trouble breathing...]

The Sith Warrior is a heavily armored Force user driven by darkness and rage [like most gamers...]. He depends more on overpowering his opponents with martial skills than Force powers but often uses iconic powers, such as [the] Force choke. His story revolves around hunting down and crushing the enemies of the Empire, though sometimes, he is given the task of corrupting--rather than destroying--an enemy.

Emmanuel Lusinchi: The Sith Warrior is a frontline fighter who aggressively uses the Force to augment his destructive power. As such, the character does have elements in common with melee-centric classes from the two Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games.

Depending on whether players develop their characters toward pure damage or toward a balanced offense and defense, a warrior can go toe-to-toe against the strongest enemy in the room or take apart a whole mob of lesser foes. [I really don't see how they're going to balance this stuff, at least in pvp]

[metallicorphan]

20 minute play walkthru (in 4 parts)..shows the Bounty hunter in action and taking on missions,and the voices as well,the same for Smuggler..and the same for a Sith...and finally,a Bounty Hunter and Sith joining forces battling Jedi Masters and Padawans

check it out

http://uk.pc.ign.com/dor/objects/816935/bioware-mmo-project/videos/gcom09_oldrepublic_spc1_082109.html;jsessionid=2udh51huktsjm

[Ridah]

.

...

And THAT, my friends, is how over 23k posts is achieved!

 

[Daehawk]

20 minute play walkthru (in 4 parts)..shows the Bounty hunter in action and taking on missions,and the voices as well,the same for Smuggler..and the same for a Sith...and finally,a Bounty Hunter and Sith joining forces battling Jedi Masters and Padawans

check it out

http://uk.pc.ign.com/dor/objects/816935/bioware-mmo-project/videos/gcom09_oldrepublic_spc1_082109.html;jsessionid=2udh51huktsjm

IN! Day one! Hell I might even fly to Canada tomorrow and try to ge ta job at Bioware. Damn!

[Ridah]

20 minute play walkthru (in 4 parts)..shows the Bounty hunter in action and taking on missions,and the voices as well,the same for Smuggler..and the same for a Sith...and finally,a Bounty Hunter and Sith joining forces battling Jedi Masters and Padawans

check it out

http://uk.pc.ign.com/dor/objects/816935/bioware-mmo-project/videos/gcom09_oldrepublic_spc1_082109.html;jsessionid=2udh51huktsjm

IN! Day one! Hell I might even fly to Canada tomorrow and try to ge ta job at Bioware. Damn!

Heh, I'm pretty content with just having a friend who works for LucasArts at the moment.

[skystride]

I haven't been following this game much but I just saw the developer walkthrough last night.  I'm slightly excited as a Star Wars fan but the combat looked unimpressive.  Same old auto attack combat.  I hope there is more to this game than just better dialog/voice overs than other mmos.

[Blackadar]

That looked...

AWESOME!!!

Deliver this to us, Jeebus!!!  Deliver us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ridah]

I haven't been following this game much but I just saw the developer walkthrough last night.  I'm slightly excited as a Star Wars fan but the combat looked unimpressive.  Same old auto attack combat.  I hope there is more to this game than just better dialog/voice overs than other mmos.

The combat looked decent to me, I thought it was cool how the bounty hunter switched from using blasters to running up close and using a flamethrower. Plus, if you watch the video of the smuglger, you can see they are working on a really cool cover mechanic for that class.

[skystride]

I haven't been following this game much but I just saw the developer walkthrough last night.  I'm slightly excited as a Star Wars fan but the combat looked unimpressive.  Same old auto attack combat.  I hope there is more to this game than just better dialog/voice overs than other mmos.

The combat looked decent to me, I thought it was cool how the bounty hunter switched from using blasters to running up close and using a flamethrower. Plus, if you watch the video of the smuglger, you can see they are working on a really cool cover mechanic for that class.

Seemed like typical mmo fare, hit 1 and my blaster auto fires, hit 2 for flame thrower when you are close range.    I thought Tabula Rasa already did cover mechanic?  Did that guy claim that Old Republic is the first?

I was expecting more action based combat instead of the turn based looking stuff.  Since this is heavily story driven, I'm expecting it to be heavily instanced.  If it's instanced, I don't see why they can't make a more faster paced combat system.  I guess there is still plenty of time for them to improve it.

[Rumpy]

Is it just me or the walking and running animations look clunky? Hopefully they'll look better later on, but they looked pretty rough.

[CeeKay]

Is it just me or the walking and running animations look clunky? Hopefully they'll look better later on, but they looked pretty rough.

they probably will.  the game is what. 6 months to a year away from release?

[Daehawk]

Plz let me alpha / beta this thing..PLZ

[Aganazer]

Is it just me or the walking and running animations look clunky? Hopefully they'll look better later on, but they looked pretty rough.

they probably will.  the game is what. 6 months to a year away from release?

I'd bet money that it won't be out till 2011.

The combat reminded me of Champions Online in a way because of the pacing and animations.

One thing I was trying to imagine was during all that NPC dialog, would it seem as cool if there was a dancing bounty hunter standing behind the quest giver the whole time? This IS a MMOG after all.

[Rumpy]

Is it just me or the walking and running animations look clunky? Hopefully they'll look better later on, but they looked pretty rough.

they probably will.  the game is what. 6 months to a year away from release?

I'd bet money that it won't be out till 2011.

The combat reminded me of Champions Online in a way because of the pacing and animations.

One thing I was trying to imagine was during all that NPC dialog, would it seem as cool if there was a dancing bounty hunter standing behind the quest giver the whole time? This IS a MMOG after all.

Or better yet, have some other players standing around in the background who react to your presence. If that system is as dynamic as they say it is, that would be pretty cool.

[DamageInc]

Just watched this and it looks impressive. Hopefully they make it all work.

[Blackjack]

The Sith Warrior has its official page now:
http://www.swtor.com/info/holonet/classes/sith-warrior

Still images of Sith Warriors capture their passion and vigor in war. Bold lightsaber tactics and surprising bursts of Force power force their foes to stay on the defensive until they are weakened and summarily destroyed. Though their saber tactics are always aggressive, some Sith Warriors choose to dual-wield or adopt other non-traditional fighting styles to accentuate their combat prowess.

Despite their reliance on their strength in the Force, Warriors have no compunction about donning heavy and intimidating suits and armors. Unthreatened by the use of technology for biological augmentation, Warriors’ vestments often make use of dangerous and experimental components which imbue the wearer with immense strength and fortitude.

I'm belatedly watching the walkthroughs. Is it just me, or does the Smuggler's "cover fire outline" look like Gumby^TM?  


"I'm Gumby^TM, dammit!"

It all seems promising enough, but I guarantee you if "This reminds me of Tabula Rasa!" becomes a widespread response, Bioware and EA's respective blood will turn COLD.  


I liked this part, where he appears to kick the stormtrooper in the nuts. Although I'm not sure they really have nuts.  


Also like this "head shot," though perhaps it's some ability to zoom in on "body parts" when health is low, or something.

It's interesting there are some enemies with "normal" swords (albeit with some sort of electrical arc along their blades). Seeing a lot of "broodlings" makes me think there will be some "bug hunt" and "harvest" quests.

I liked seeing a light saber and a gun class working together in Walkthrough #4.

[Blackjack]

Massively.com PAX interview, blah blah blah...
http://www.massively.com/2009/09/07/pax-2009-massively-interviews-bioware-and-lucasarts-on-swtor/#continued

*The interview's cut off at the end so I don't know if it really is that short or if they messed something up when they posted it.  

Here's a shaky cam of the Coruscant footage from PAX:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jConTifuwdE

[CeeKay]

proof of microtransactions in the game?  or just a joke?  it's sections h-k after all.....

[snoleopard]

Plz let me alpha / beta this thing..PLZ

I'll second that...

[CeeKay]

a look at Balmorra.

[Daehawk]

proof of microtransactions in the game?  or just a joke?  it's sections h-k after all.....

Well as much as Im looking forward to ToR...if it has ANY microtransactions then I will not subscribe. even if its just for little odds and ends I would feel cheated that others would be having these things and I wouldn't.

[Blackjack]

even if its just for little odds and ends I would feel cheated that others would be having these things and I wouldn't.

Yeah, but what if you hate those little odds and ends, and think they're a complete waste of time. 

If it's just cosmetics, or they want to have some little Star Wars trading cards mini-game or something then I'm fine with it. If it extends into stuff that's combat-related, then I would be ticked off about it. Some MMOs are extending microtransactions into buying additional character slots, inventory stash space, etc., and I wouldn't be surprised if they either planned to do that, or wanted their legalese to be set up appropriately in advance to provide them leeway to do that after release.

[Blackjack]

TenTonHammer highlighted an issue with Internet Explorer 64-bit that may have resulted in some beta tester applicants' failing the hardware scan process even though it may have indicated you succeeded 

SWTOR Test Applicants May Not Have Been Registered Due to Site Glitch
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/75849

We've recently encountered an error with the Star Wars: The Old Republic Game Testing sign up page and users of the 64-bit version of Internet Explorer on Windows 64-bit platforms. When using Internet Explorer 64-bit, the system scanning program will either fail, or it will appear to have completed properly and submit your data, but it will actually fail to scan your system or submit your specifications to BioWare.

========================
I believe there were a couple of new "Timeline" trailers released (they're "dated" new at Gametrailers but maybe they're not, not sure). Sort of "still image+audio narration" storytelling cinematics:

Timeline IV
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/timeline-trailer-star-wars/58159

Timeline V
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/timeline-trailer-star-wars/58161

=========================
MMOGamer got an interview with BioWare producer Blaine Christine other day:

BioWare’s Blaine Christine Talks Heroism, Villainy, and Why You Would Play Anything But a Jedi in Star Wars: The Old Republic
http://www.mmogamer.com/10/18/2009/bioware-blaine-christine-the-old-republic
Couple tidbits...

"Light Side" Villain etc.

The MMO Gamer: But in KOTOR, it was the exact same story regardless of what you were playing. A Jedi Consular had the same story as a Jedi Guardian. Here you’re dealing with a lot more variables.

Blaine Christine: That was sort of the thing where yeah, all of the classes were bound by that one story, which is not the case here.

Each of our classes has a distinct story, but within each of those stories, if you go light side or dark side, there would be differences similar to what you saw in KOTOR.

The MMO Gamer: So you could play a fully light side Sith Warrior or a dark side Jedi?

Blaine Christine: Absolutely.

I didn't notice any sneaky revelations. They're emphasizing all the usual MMO detail stuff (crafting, harvesting, guilds, auction houses etc.) is in there, but they have wanted to demo the stuff they think makes the game unique in the genre apparently.

[Blackjack]

Doh! I missed the Jedi Knight class getting added to the official site!  

Jedi Knight
http://www.swtor.com/info/holonet/classes/jedi-knight

Combining the foresight of the Force with unrivaled reflexes and practiced physical precision, the Knight turns combat into an art form, gracefully executing acrobatic feats in tandem with elegant lightsaber tactics.

Don't forget to check out the short gameplay video snippets.  

Blue's noted a Gamesplut interview about the Jedi Knight profession:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/starwarstheoldrepublic/news.html?sid=6238428&mode=previews

William Wallace: ... Besides Force push and saber throw, the Jedi Knight gets some abilities similar to the [KOTOR] guardian's "Force valor" that give various benefits to both Jedi knights and their entire party, as well as the ability to wield two lightsabers at once. The guardian profession was definitely a major influence on the concept and design of the Jedi knight.

At its core, the Jedi knight is about getting into battle as quickly as possible, dominating the fight and protecting allies. Players who enjoy fast melee combat will identify with this class--there's no passive auto-attack combat here.

The Jedi knight has a smorgasbord of lightsaber abilities to choose from as the situation dictates and must continue to evaluate the battle to see whether he should strike hard at one or two targets or swing widely to keep a whole cluster of enemies at bay.

Sometimes it's more advantageous to simply push them all back with the Force, take a second to breathe, and then leap back into the fray with both lightsabers drawn. Players who enjoy that kind of tactical decision making in combat will find a lot to like in the Jedi knight.

WW: The Jedi knight can fill a couple of roles in combat. In one-on-one combat, the Jedi knight is practically unmatched in melee power. He excels in getting into the fight very quickly by charging into a group of enemies and then has a number of strong single and double lightsaber attacks to damage his enemies and keep them from damaging him.

In group combat, the Jedi knight excels at staying at the forefront of the fight and has a number of ways to keep the battle focused on him, letting his allies concentrate on what they do best and also keeping any Sith lightsabers away from unarmored targets. Even if the Jedi knight isn't leading the group, the character is still a valuable asset to his comrades by virtue of his wide range of melee abilities and his ability to augment the party's strength with Force abilities and auras.

I guess in say, CoX/Diablo terms, it's like a Tank/Scrapper/Diablo II Paladin hybrid.  

I'm still skeptical they can make the other classes appealing enough not to end up with a game full of Jedi Knights and Sith Lords.  

I assume the last "good guy" class is some sort of healer type.

[Razgon]

I'm guessing the forums will contain 60 percent posts that says "Nerf Jedi Plx"...

BUT, if they just make him a melee character - a dps warrior for instance with some tanking abilities, then there really shouldnt be any problems...

[Blackjack]

Since he/she can toss his light saber like a spinning boomerang-frisbee, and use force push on enemies a long distance from him, it's probably too late for that.   They've said in interviews they know they have to make all the classes equally appealing, so I should probably just have blind faith. I like the cover-fire gimmick, so I think the Smuggler is what I'd want to try first.  

I assume the group content would reward some variety in team make-up rather than having 4 or 6 or however many light sabers spinning around.

I'm thinking the fourth Republic class could be some sort of pet-focused class, cause the other 3 don't seem to have something like that. Maybe a class that can summon healing droids, attack droids, etc. depending on circumstances?