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Tag: Star Wars: The Old Republic

January 6, 2011

Not-The-WoW Marches Forward

by Frank — Categories: Gaming, Internet, Social Geekery — Tags: , , — Leave a comment

Ah Babylon 5 – I still pay homage to you today with badly formed post titles.

Anyway, over at Broken Toys, the ever-prolific Scott Jennings has chimed in with a few thoughts on MMOs for 2011, with a ton of titles set to ship to eager customers everywhere, including a detailed analysis on a title near and dear to my heart, for blatantly obvious reasons (similarly in the same vein as Scott, yes I work for BioWare, no, I can’t tell you anything about Star Wars: The Old Republic, and no, cheesecake and brownies are not acceptable bribes even if I was accepting them). It sure seems that these days it seems like doing so is more like releasing rabid hounds on a fox, but such as it is with the world of games.

The one part I’d like to cherry pick from Scott’s rather insightful post is the fact that this is a year of “NotWoW”, and that we’re poised to see a realization that imitating the giant in the industry is not the way to create a long-lasting game. I know I wrote about this only a couple days ago, but part of all that Cataclysm hate stems from the fact that people are afraid that the game of their choice will simply be stomped into so much pancake by the DeathKnight-booted foot of Blizzard’s current titan (yes, I saw you saw what I did there).

There’s a bit of burgeoning optimism in what Scott is saying about the MMO market and I not surprisingly have to agree with it, for a number of reasons. One is the fact that despite perceived failures in the MMO industry, from the now-defunct Tabula Rasa to first-impressions-rushed Warhammer Online, the industry and its sleep-deprived developers have learned from every bump in the road that every title before it has driven over. And even games that haven’t done as well as folks hoped they would still contribute in some way to making the age-old formula better. Age of Conan gave us a story-driven and immersive introduction zone. Warhammer Online introduced us to public quests and achievements. Aion toyed with the z-axis for players. Stargate Worlds told us developers kind of  require salaries to work. Yes, most if not all of the titles out there showed players and developers lessons and thoughts and ideas that have, for better or worse, added puzzle pieces to the MMO mystery formula for success.

2011, I think, will be the realization of a couple years of refining the frontier of “innovative” features that paved the way for new and fresh titles. Sure, it might seem a little morbid, stepping over the battlefield of mangled and chewed up MMOs to do better against ravenous, picky fandom, but if it ends up being a better game overall, that means competition, and competition is good for the industry as a whole. Despite what some people perceive to be cynicism about the success potential of the upcoming crop of games, even the worst of them that bother to post about it have at least a little hope that something that comes out is going to be an amazing success. I think there will be, especially since people have cycled once again from a “love WoW but nothing else” mentality to a “want to play something different from WoW but still just as polished and fun”. 2011 is poised to bring us just that with MMOs, so I wish everyone out there, from the players that are eager to devour the content to the friends I know in the industry that are developing it all the luck and well wishes in the world.

December 2, 2009

[Darth Hater] Jumping to Inquisitive Consular-clusions

by Frank — Categories: Other Blogs I Write For, Star Wars: The Old Republic — Tags: , — 1 Comment

Over at Darth Hater, I’ve got a column up about the reaction to the reveal of the last two classes for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Is the mass hysteria and crazy reaction to Bioware’s decision to include two more Force classes justified? What about the fact that the forums have all sorts of threads hotly discussing the news? You’ll have to check out the article to find out:

http://darthhater.com/2009/12/01/a-jump-to-inquisitive-consular-clusions/

November 7, 2009

Bioware’s Balance And TOR Careers

by Frank — Categories: Gaming, Star Wars: The Old Republic — Tags: , , , — 4 Comments

gemini42Bioware’s been on a bit of a tear lately with Star Wars: The  Old Republic, as the RPG developer revealed the latest class for TOR, the Imperial Agent, a week after their announcement of the Jedi Knight. With this reveal, there now only remain two more classes to show off to complete their picture of TOR careers.

While there was some initial cloudiness regarding Bioware’s philosophy on balancing two sides, now that most of the careers have been shown we’re starting to see a bit more of that come to light. The picture that I’m seeing so far, honestly, is uplifting to me as a player. Here’s some of the key points:

  • Two sides of the same coin – While it seems that Bioware is not taking a stance where they are creating the exact same abilities for both Empire and Republic, they do seem to be taking a mirrored approach. This reflects the overall lore of the Star Wars universe in the “good vs. evil” sense. For example, the Smuggler and recently revealed Agent are both covert and stealthy in different ways, they will be using cunning rather than brute strength, and they’ll be reliant on the element of surprise. The Bounty Hunter and Trooper are both resourceful warriors with a variety of tools at their disposal and are both frontline fighters. The Jedi and Sith are painfully obvious. All of this points to a “similar but different” idea that Bioware has been known to refine with their previous titles.
  • Non-Archetypal – The KOTOR games had loosely based archetypes around which you would customize your character with skill upgrades and stat point distribution. This appears to be making the transition to TOR , because as much discussion has been had about which class is the “tank” and which is the “dps”, none of those archetypes appear obvious in the classes themselves. Instead Bioware appears to be concentrating on making each individual class provide its own flavor to the universe, and with exclusive skills based on the moral choice system, another layer is added that combats the whole “role pigeonholing” we’ve seen in MMOs.
  • Iconic and Epic - While it’s true that gameplay and mechanics make a class work, there is something to be said about how Bioware is treating these careers. They’re not just general roles in a Star Wars world, but heroes as well. They’re based upon well-known Star Wars universe characters (or ones easily referenced, as in the case with the Imperial Agent) and they are meant to evoke a sense of being that character when you are playing them. It might seem like fluff to some, but to Bioware, they consider it an essential lynchpin to playing the class, something which falls in line with their promotion of TOR as one that uses story.

While I’m sure some people are feeling a bit fearful that Bioware isn’t traveling a path that is well-trodden when it comes to their careers, I’m personally feeling excited for the potential class dynamic that will be occurring as a result of these philosophies. I’m a traditional support class player, but with two classes left I can’t help but wonder if Bioware is going to force me out of my healing shell and make all the careers healing self-sufficient, meaning I’ll be making my choices based on what feels right to play rather than what is practical. I can’t say that’s a bad thing, and I’m looking forward to what Bioware will be doing in the future to flesh out their chosen careers.

November 2, 2009

The Excellently Expected SWTOR Jedi Knight

by Frank — Categories: Gaming, Star Wars: The Old Republic — Tags: , , , , — 1 Comment

episode_2_jedi_knightBy now, folks keeping tabs on Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic know that the latest class reveal is the Jedi Knight, the second in the line of Force users revealed for the upcoming game. While there’s the usual buzz of excitement surrounding any major information chatter for this anticipated MMO, there’s also an undercurrent of “exactly as we expected” among the TOR faithful. Moon Over Endor’s Ayane even expresses a bit of disappointment over reading the description and Q&A and seeing, well, exactly what was supposed to be there.

While I can agree that of all the TOR classes, the Jedi Knight was the biggest “duh” out there, I don’t know that seeing exactly what we expected is necessarily a bad thing. For one thing, if there’s one huge pressure that’s on Bioware, it’s to get the IP of the Star Wars universe correct for those that are expecting an authentic experience (not to mention for Lucasarts).

There’s certain tried and true ideas behind a Jedi that everyone is familiar with – the sense of justice, the idea of fighting for the greater good, adventure and excitement not being craved, and all that jazz. If we didn’t have these core concepts behind the Jedi Knight, I’d say it’d be difficult to sell on those who’ve been at the lore longer than some of you have been alive.

This kind of stuff needs to translate into gameplay as well. Defensive techniques, finesse rather than brutality, and the overall heroic aura are apparently the Jedi Knight’s stock in trade, making them the obvious mirror counterpart to TOR’s Sith Warrior. TOR class balance in this sense is extremely important, lest one lightsaber wielding ninja-monk be more powerful than another. If this means creating a bit of predictability in the two classes’ abilities, skills, and gameplay, then that will be a necessary evil. Besides, expected gameplay for the Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior may translate into more people trying other classes to avoid the rush of lightsaber-y goodness on the battlefield.

All that being said, I also would hold out a bit more sunny hope for some alternative playstyles as well. I go into this in more detail over at Darth Hater when I write about the possibility of a morally grey Jedi Knight, but the morality and choice system creates some very interesting directions that a Jedi Knight could go. With exclusive abilities unlocked through aligning with one or the other side of the moral compass, there might still be a possibility that the Jedi Knight is not as straightforward as he or she may seem.

Regardless of all this, we’re now more than halfway done with the unveiling of the TOR classes, so there’s still more possibilities on the horizon that aren’t as expected as blue lightsabers. Keep the faith, TOR fans!

October 30, 2009

The Dread of TOR Non-Delivery

by Frank — Categories: Gaming, Star Wars: The Old Republic — Tags: , , , — 3 Comments

addyThe longer a game is out in the public eye, the more hype and buzz starts to surround it like a palpable bubble of anticipation. With this comes great exposure, and that is both good and bad. This is because while you get a lot of people really excited about a title, you also run the risk of having your anticipation bubble popped by a needle of dread and fear that the game won’t deliver on its promises.

Such as it is with Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic, which recently passed the one-year anniversary of its announcement to the public and is basically chugging right along at a marked pace. Understandably, Bioware’s been a bit tight-lipped about many of the details of the game, but what has been released has done nothing but whet the appetite of the people that are raring to play it. But aside from that are forum threads and posts that are beginning to pop up from players with furrowed brows about various segments of the game and whether they’ll be able to deliver properly. With the small level of real and detailed information that has been released by TOR, the threads have become all manner of worry and even stress over what might not work.

Not surprisingly, I’m pretty non-plussed about all the agony that is felt with regards to TOR’s ability to deliver. Whipping yourself into a frenzy over the fact that the voiceovers might be tedious or unnecessary, the PvP could be imbalanced, the graphics won’t get a good pass, or that game-breaking bugs will appear isn’t worth it to me. While speculation is all well and good, especially when it comes to what Bioware will be doing with their first MMO, anticipating or fearing that the game won’t deliver just isn’t healthy for your gaming experience. I like to take TOR’s promises with a grain of salt – part of it is the necessary hype needed from marketing, and the other is the simple reality that all MMOs, no matter how good they sound on paper, will probably have growing pains. It’s been true ever since I was ganking poor little newbies for their cash and cackling maniacally in Ultima Online, and it’ll continue to be true as long as the MMO paradigm doesn’t shift severely.

Really, part of the anxiety Star Wars: The Old Republic’s potential players are feeling is partially due to the waiting. With TOR so far out from release, it’s plenty of time for people to go through a cyclical phase of devour-discuss-dread when it comes to every bit of new info. Imaginations run wild and sometimes they can get away from people. To be perfectly honest, people will either be satisfied or not when TOR finally hits the shelves. Worrying about the latter, especially this far out from the TOR release date, is just bad for you. If, ultimately, TOR doesn’t deliver for folks that are reading this, it should be based on the direct gameplay experience you have playing it, not from what might happen based upon a few nuggets of info. Do what I do, and enjoy yourself on the hype train. You’ll be less stressed out.

October 13, 2009

[Darth Hater] The Massive World Of The Old Republic

by Frank — Categories: Gaming, Other Blogs I Write For, Star Wars: The Old Republic — Tags: , , , — Leave a comment

Over at Darth Hater I have a brand new article up about the issue of SW:TOR’s massive world in light of the new Coruscant Developer Dispatch. I talk about how Bioware’s reveal details a lot of good things, but uncovers a possible issue with making the setting a bit too large and segmenting the population as a result. Be sure to check it out!

http://darthhater.com/2009/10/13/the-massive-world-of-the-old-republic/

October 13, 2009

Star Wars: The Old Republic And The Coruscant Coolness

by Frank — Categories: Gaming, Star Wars: The Old Republic — Tags: , , — Leave a comment

CoruscantThose of you who haven’t yet, ought to check out the new Star Wars: The Old Republic Developer Dispatch on Coruscant. It’s a 6-minute reveal on the world that Bioware is planning to set up for its players in its unique part of Star Wars history, and they talk about everything from concept art to possible content.

One of the things that Bioware needs to nail when it comes to an MMO is a proper depiction of the IP. While Bioware is at a distinct advantage with the fact that they’ve worked with this relative time period and the IP of the Star Wars universe before, an MMO is a whole new ball of wax. This is because the world is going to be persistent and present, instead of being played and then put down forever. People who play MMOs are also more invested in the immersiveness of the whole experience as well, which means that every quest and every zone that they travel needs to feel epic, worldly, and in the case of Star Wars, accurate to a T.

The Coruscant reveal was really great because the variety of developers who spoke gave us a sense of an overall theme of making sure Bioware is meeting the goals stated above. Concept artists, designers, and marketing all came together for a presentation that made it feel like the world of Coruscant was going to be as epic as anything in Star Wars: The Old Republic. We also got some curious detail about questing and area division, as Coruscant’s various levels of city condition, from slum gang warfare to beautiful metallic architecture, will provide players with a ton to do on one of the most iconic planets of the Star Wars universe.

Sure, a lot of this stuff is lore and atmosphere, and even the small gameplay details are conceptual and not detailed. But I think that it’s important to set the table before you serve dinner, especially when it comes to MMOs, and Bioware’s continuous referral to story as a main course rather than a side dish really shows in this reveal. I’m personally excited to be able to travel Coruscant and experience all of its content, and if this is only one such planet in the SW: TOR universe, I’m looking forward to seeing more.

October 3, 2009

[Darth Hater] The Force of EA

by Frank — Categories: Other Blogs I Write For, Star Wars: The Old Republic — Tags: , — Leave a comment

Over at Darth Hater I have a new SW:TOR article up about the dichotomy that is EA, and what role they’ll be playing in the upcoming Bioware MMO release. Will we see the Evil Emperor EA of old, or the more redeeming, non-interfering EA of the past two years? Time will tell, but you can check the full article here:

http://darthhater.com/2009/10/03/the-force-of-ea/

September 30, 2009

The TOR Beta Gold Rush

by Frank — Categories: Gaming, Star Wars: The Old Republic — Tags: , , — 3 Comments
GA gold panning
Image via Wikipedia

So it appears that Bioware is further along with their beta plans for Star Wars: The Old Republic after all – because the site now has a testing portal for the TOR beta where you may submit your interest to be a beta tester.

Naturally this is a major announcement and even if beta is months away, users are rushing to signup, crippling the bandwidth of Bioware’s web servers and forcing frequent maintenance to keep the demand high. Looks like there are a lot of players out there looking to try out their prospects as the next Han Solo, Darth Vader, or Boba Fett, to say the least. The demand has been so crazy that I had to wait until 1am this morning to actually complete my TOR beta signup, which consists of taking some personal info, agreeing to a normal beta tester set of policies, and having a scan of your system submitted.

Really though, guys and gals, we should stay a bit level-headed as well as positive-minded about this whole thing. Like I said before, the date of TOR beta could be months away. We could be waiting in a queue for a long time to come. So really, rushing to beta signup in an attempt to get your name in the hat, and becoming frustrated at not being able to do so, is just not worth it. Beta signups should cooldown in a few days, after which you should be able to submit your NASA-like computer settings and personal info to Bioware just fine.

There’s also a thought that even though this is a great thing for Bioware (and a sign that development is proceeding along nicely) that once you’re in the Star Wars: The Old Republic beta, you’ll be getting a sneak peek at the game. This is true, but you’re also going to meet, head-on, the realistic image of the game behind all the polished marketing. While some people might find the experience discouraging or, as Syp has said, one that they might not want to play due to not wanting to ruin expectations, others I think will want to get in on it to set those expectations appropriately prior to spending money.

I’m one of these people – but I’m also a tester when it comes to these things too. Mostly this is because I know the game is going to have broken things, bugs, and other such issues. Not surprisingly, I’m looking forward to the idea that I might be crashing every 5 minutes, that performance could cripple my machine, that the fully-voiced features could suddenly crap out in TOR beta and everyone could start sounding like chipmunks with lightsabers. It’s all a part of a process of development that I’ve participated in many times, and contributed to meaningfully, so I can’t wait to get in and get my hands on the client to test it out and beat it into the ground.

Still, all that being said, rushing to beta isn’t for everyone. There’s a lot of panning for gold involved before you get it, so I encourage everyone to take a deep breath, realize that not being able to signup for TOR beta isn’t the end of the world, and wait patiently – there’s plenty of TOR beta river space to go around.

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September 24, 2009

The Turtle-like Pace To The TOR Release Date

by Frank — Categories: Gaming, Star Wars: The Old Republic — Tags: , , , — 9 Comments

Pretty easy to guess, from the really cute picture, who are the players and who are the developers, right? Hint: we’re the ones that can pounce on things and like shinies.

With information a bit sparse on the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO lately, the community has taken to all forms of speculation as to what will be revealed next about the game, what’s to come, and of course, a little bit of thought about when exactly the TOR release date is going to be coming around. The way I see it, there are three sort of distinct divisions running around at the moment:

  • The 2009 crowd would get a cuppycake from me for being even more positive and optimistic than I am about TOR’s release date. A few brave souls hold out hope that Christmas will bring them a little Star Wars: The Old Republic to be messing around with.
  • 2010 is the high average in the bell curve of TOR release date speculators. There was already a site that claimed it was going to come out next October, but that has similarly been debunked by the developers as just a wild guess. Most people falling into this category have probably been through a beta or three.
  • 2011 is something that only a few folks would want to even think about, because the totality of having that enter one’s mind means that the SW:TOR release date is 2 years out. Following a game for 2 years, or more? That’s a huge endeavor and a long time to remain positive about the game’s prospects.

There are all at least one or two points that support any of the three ideas for when TOR is going to be unleashed to the gaming public, but my support is thrown behind 2011 as the possible TOR release date. While that too, is wild speculation on my part, consider the fact that BioWare is currently in a state where very little gameplay footage has been shown, the first 8 levels are the ones that have been released to the public in some way, and that not all of the 8 classes are known to us. We should also consider the fact that as much as I love the gaming community, especially the MMO-playing portion of it, that premature releases and a scrutinizing public are going to make any developer cautious about their pacing.

If you want a totally guessed-at, not defintive, totally unconfirmed idea of the timeline to the TOR release date, here’s some logic (amazing, right) that leads me to believe TOR is way, way in the future of MMO releases:

  • We have 4 classes currently revealed. Even at the rate of one class reveal a month, we’re looking at all classes to be revealed by the end of January 2010. While the pacing can certainly pick up (and community guy Sean Dahlberg has already made mention of that already), I think Bioware is going to remain cautious and careful about what the show to the public.
  • Three months of gameplay reveals and information, along with the marketing cycle for hyping up closed beta, seems reasonable to build interest in the game and bring impatient people back for more participation. If we find out more about leveling, combat, and the story mechanics, and are on the hype train to closed beta opening, that puts us at April 2010, just before the summer convention season and when the most testers can be available.
  • Any closed beta I know of proceeds in phases, where players bash the hell out of the current build of the game, in focused tests or in general content vetting, and developers change it based upon that feedback. This is an iterative process, and many companies vary their beta time depending on what they need to change prior to release. For perspective, the last three betas I was in for an MMO lasted an average of of 14 months. Let’s say Phase 1 is the big reveal, general feedback period for closed beta testers and beta leak watchers. That’s July 2010 when all is said and done.
  • Phase 2 of TOR closed beta is a pass based on player feedback, with some focused areas for testers to observe as they get back into things. Assuming another three month period, that puts us at October 2010.
  • Phase 3 reveals some areas of the game that have to be revamped or tested in laser-like focus tests. Whether it’s class balance, or the story pacing, or the combat, something is not going to go as planned and it will need some iterative love. We get to beyond the holidays and into January 2011.
  • Marketing will be picking up the pace as the release date will be long since known (and perhaps been pushed back a couple times). In closed beta, the last phase will put the game into a state where it can be tested again on an overall basis to go through the entirety of the game experience to squash major bugs and issues. We arrive at the end of closed beta at around April 2011.
  • Hype to open beta will be in full swing, touting a summer date that will snag all the students and the folks that have seasonal jobs. With shorter periods for open beta these days, we’ll probably be seeing May 2011 for the inevitable stress test, involving queues, crashing, and last-minute scrambling to adjust for player demand.
  • Release happens in the midst of summer, June 2011. This assumes there will be no “oh shit” factor that pushes back development of the game – in which case my entire timeline is messed up and you can see about hotspots in early fall or at the holidays of 2011 for your SW:TOR fix.

All of this totally non-definitive information about the TOR release date says that we’re looking at a turtle crossing the finish line and not a hare. But just like the story reveals, haste makes total waste, especially when it comes to MMOs. When you understand the full scope of what it means to wait for years for a game that you are anticipating to come out, many people are simply not going to be able to put up with keeping vigil on the game. The few obsessed, crazy, idealistic fans like myself will be the markers that people will check back on to see how close we are to the SW:TOR release date.

Frankly, I’m fine and dandy with Bioware and their turtle’s pace to development. If MMOs in recent times have been burned for anything, it’s coming out too soon and having problems that they must play catch up in order to rectify properly. It might not make sense to EA investors, but the long-term strategy of an MMO release is a lot easier to execute with more time. Two years from now, will we be seeing Star Wars: The Old Republic come out on a release date that has been a long time coming? Maybe, and maybe not. But I do know that if I can, I’ll still be posting positive, sunny things about it, and everything else. At least you have a constant, right?

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