Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

SWTOR: It’s Gonna Be Around A While

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On July 18, 2012

In Gaming, SWTOR

There is so much doomsday talk around Star Wars The Old Republic that I think something positive needs to be posted out there (thank God for Hyperspace Beacon). It’s as if everyone wants SWTOR to fail, but it’s not going to fail! Just because subscription rates dropped 20% after the first couple of months (which is the industry standard for every MMO), or some executive leaves the company doesn’t mean the game is failing (unless your CEO is Curt Schilling). I am still playing SWTOR and let me tell you that it has a great player base and, since 1.3, I have had several of my friends come back to play it.

Bioware still holds weekly Developer Q&A sessions where they consider player ideas and questions and discuss what players can expect in the next patch or what tweaks the developers are working on. Clearly that is a sign its failing.

Bioware still performs weekly maintenance on all the servers for 4-6 hours (which is the same timetable for Blizzard maintenance) to improve server performance and stability. Clearly that is also a sign its failing.

Bioware is still introducing new content for players at major events (such as the recent HK-51 unveiling at Comic-Con – which, by the way, I am really excited about). OMG! Clearly they are going under!

All of these false prophets need to find something else to pick on and stop all this pathetic whining. SWTOR is a great game and its doing quite well. We should let the business people, that actually understand how business works, handle the natural functions of running a large corporation. I will bet real money that we will still be talking about content updates for SWTOR a year from now and all the lousy doomsayers will have moved on to the next “so-called” flop (which appears to be Elder Scrolls Online, so be ready Bathesda’s PR department).

By the way, if you haven’t tried the new features in 1.3, come back and check them out. Granted you have missed the free 7-day window but renewing for one month won’t kill you (unless you are republic scum and you’re on Corellian Run, mwahahahaha … j/k).

Cheers!

The MMO Times: The 40th Issue!

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On July 13, 2012

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

Issue 40

It’s Comic-Con week this week and man I wish I was there. William Shatner, Felicia Day, the entire Firefly cast (including Joss Wheadon) are just a couple of the big reasons I wish I were there! It’s also been a slow week in gaming this week not only because of Comic-Con but also because SWTOR patch 1.3 and The Secret World are now in full swing. So I know we are all busy doing what we all do best, but perhaps you will find some of the following articles and posts interesting.

In this 40th issue of the MMO Times there is more information regarding the Game of Thrones MMO, a new Ultima MMO from EA, some more reviews for The Secret World and the announcement of some new incentive programs from Bioware. Read on and enjoy!

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Biggs On: Why I Still Play WoW

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On July 9, 2012

In Biggs On, World of Warcraft

I decided that since I wrote a post on why I still play The Old Republic, I thought perhaps I should do the same for World of Warcraft. I actually have an active subscription for both games. I have been playing WoW since it was a year old and I have many friends (most of which I know in their physical form) that are still playing as well. Most of us are on the same server and in the same guild. We don’t care about how our guild does compared to other guilds on the server, we just play to hang out. We all know that we have our own lives and that sometimes we can’t log in and raid because life happens.

My friends are predominately the reason I still play WoW, but there are other facets of the game that I still enjoy. I know the game has changed tremendously since vanilla and many people have criticized Blizzard for making those changes. While I understand their viewpoint, I think they are being a bit obtuse. The game has to evolve. Only a small percentage of the player base were experiencing the bulk of the content, if Blizzard hadn’t evolved the game to appeal to more players the game would have died years ago. I’m glad they got rid of 40-man raids and implemented 10-man raids. I love the dungeon finder tool and transmog. All of these changes improved the quality of life of the game and are the other reasons I keep logging in.

I doubt I will play WoW until the servers shut down, it all depends on what life brings for me and my friends. Despite my feelings for the name of the expansion, odds are that I will be playing Mists of Pandaria. I’m not really looking forward to the changes to the talent system but I’m sure I will adjust, just as I did for all the other expansions where they made dramatic changes. In a few days it will seem natural again and I’m willing to give the new talent system a chance. Perhaps after 6 years of trying to meticulously construct the perfect build, it will be nice to only have to worry about six talents.

I’m also kind of a fan of the Asian culture and I’ve always been a big martial arts fan. I’m looking forward to making my own “kung fu panda”, I’m already working on some names so I will be ready at launch. I don’t know if I am going to buy the collector’s edition. I’m not sure that I am as much into the game as I was for Lich King and Cataclysm. I might just buy the digital version instead of going to Best Buy at midnight.

Blizzard has done a fantastic job with World of Warcraft and I’m glad that I chose to make it my hobby because I have made some terrific friends. It’s also been fun to unexpectedly meet a complete stranger because they yelled “For The Horde!” when they saw your Blizzard t-shirt.

Cheers!

The MMO Times: Freedom Edition

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On July 6, 2012

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

Issue 39

Greetings Gamers! I hope everyone had a happy, and safe, Fourth of July. I don’t know what its like in your neck of the woods but around here it has been sweltering. A perfect reason to stay in doors and play some MMOs.

It has been an exciting week as Funcom’s latest project, The Secret World, went live on the 3rd. More news about Bigpoint’s new Game of Thrones project, as well as some reviews about the newest SWTOR content patch. There is some good stuff to check out this week so enjoy!

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Happy 4th of July, America!

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On July 4, 2012

In General Cogitation

Its been a tumultuous time for all of us here in the United States of America. I wish that all political sides could get along better because its difficult watching everyone belittle and berate each other because of our opposing views. If I had to find a silver lining among our bickering I would say that we do have a common goal in mind when we do debate so vehemently, we all want a better America. There is no denying that the passion we hold for our beliefs is so we can create a better country for ourselves, our children and all future generations.

I ask that on this day we put aside the healthcare discussions, the political propaganda and the mudslinging and celebrate why we have the freedom and the right to be able to do it. Say the Pledge of Allegiance (as its meant to be said), sing the National Anthem, attend a fireworks ceremony and celebrate, peacefully, the great country we live in.

Happy Independence Day America!
And God Bless!

SWTOR: Patch 1.3 Impressions

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On July 3, 2012

In Gaming, SWTOR

Game Update 1.3 has been out for a week now so perhaps I should talk about my impressions of the changes to the game before I get too lost in the new content. I think its important to note that had Bioware not offered the server transfers it would have adversely affected the quality of this patch. I can actually complete the Black Hole heroic daily now, and oftentimes before I have finished the other quests.

I still think that the best feature in this patch is the addition of the Group Finder. I have now used it a couple of times and the only misfortune I have experienced (so far) is a tank that disconnected. Its great to be able to get Tionese crystals, Daily Commendations and Black Hole Commendations more consistently now. Gearing up for Lost Island Hard Modes and Operations should be much easier and create a better end-game experience for the casual player. Generally the queue times have been roughly about 10 minutes for my DPS toon, I haven’t tried it on my tank yet.The biggest concern that some people have voiced have been that since its not a feature that was available at release that nobody will use it but I think that isn’t entirely accurate. I do, occasionally, still see people advertising for a group in the fleet channels, but most of the time its followed up by other people suggesting that they use the group finder tool. I think its great that other players are helping to encourage the new tool.

I don’t pvp much so I can’t comment on the new ranked warzones but based on the activity of those in my guild I’d say its pretty popular. My guild has already assembled a couple of ranked warzone teams and there seems to be less complaining on the fleet channels about the lack of challenge in pvp and warzone queue times. I can imagine this is a very popular feature, and probably the most popular, among pvper’s. If anyone has some feedback they would like to offer about this feature, please feel free to post a comment.

I really like some of the new legacy perks, and not all of them are just for leveling alts. You can increase your companion affection gains from all sources by paying an increasing amount of credits (the bigger the increase, the more it will cost you). If you are an altoholic (like me) then purchasing increased experience gains is going to be worth the credits. There is a new legacy perk that unlocks speeder piloting at earlier levels which might make early Tatooine less cumbersome.

The new augment system is great. If you were struggling on a boss in an operation and you needed just a tiny bit of a DPS boost from your teammates, well this may just be the inch you need. All items can be equipped with an augment slot by using an augment kit appropriate for your level. I haven’t fully explored this feature yet but I think I may do a separate post once I get it all figured out. It seems like there are some that don’t quite understand how it works so perhaps I can provide some help.

As you can see this patch actually has a lot to offer and it didn’t even have new content (in the form of new flashpoints, warzones or operations). I really suggest getting back in there and checking out the new features and experiencing a much more populated universe.

Cheers!

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