Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Tag: SWTOR Page 16 of 19

SWTOR: Beta Blues

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On October 28, 2011

In Gaming, General Cogitation, MMORPG, SWTOR

I have the beta blues. Why you ask? Because they are implementing a new build and all the servers are offline. It has been like that for a couple weeks now. I’m withdrawing. I need my SWTOR fix!

I know what the rest of you that aren’t in the beta are thinking …

“Oh boohoo for you!”

Yea, I probably deserve that but I’m still withdrawing. I keep obsessively checking the Game Testing forum hoping for some good news only to have my hopes bashed to pieces. I just read today (October 28th) “the new build will not be available this weekend.” Those tragic words are more harsh than a beating by a Mantellian Savrip.

I am working on some more SWTOR topics, I have hit a writers block. I hope to come up with something before I complete the next MMO Times post so I can have more separation between those posts. If you have anything to suggest, please leave a comment. The topic doesn’t necessarily have to be SWTOR related, most of you that know me know that I play other things.

Cheers!

The MMO Times: Back For Blizzcon

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On October 23, 2011

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

Issue 18

Hello Gamers!! I didn’t think anyone still read these posts or still received the emails but I learned recently that some of you still do and do enjoy them. So, back by popular demand, is The MMO Times and what a better way to come back then with the cool stuff from Blizzcon. Enjoy!

Mists of Pandaria Trailer

I am only providing this video through the blog, obviously I can’t embed a video into an e-mail.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyeZ8khSEC0[/youtube]

Mists of Pandaria Recap

MMO-Champion has the best recap of Blizzcon 2011 including videos and and links to the all of the details around the new World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria. I will be honest, I’m not a fan of the name but some of the new features do have me a bit geeked out. So check out the link and see what you think (I also provided the Massively link, they have some good stuff too).
MMO-Champion article
Massively article

STO Creates Difficulty Modes

As all of you may know by now, Star Trek Online has gone Free-2-Play. It seems they are making more changes to their Strategic Task Forces by creating two difficulty modes, Normal and Elite. You can read more about it at Massively.
Massively article

Transformers Universe Q&A Recap

Jagex held a Q&A session at the New York Comic Con this year for the upcoming Transformers Universe. There were quite a few things discussed about it so check out the Massively article to read more about it. I haven’t looked too much into this MMO yet but I am mildly interested so I might try to see if I can get into a beta or something.
Massively article

A Look At SWTOR Editions

MMOMFG has a pretty good article that discusses the various editions that you can pre-order for SWTOR. There are three editions available, Digital Deluxe, Collector’s Edition (which I have already pre-ordered) and the Standard Edition. I thought a long time about just getting the Standard Edition but the more I played the beta the more I enjoyed the game and decided that, while pricey, I enjoyed the game enough to warrant paying the cost.
MMOMFG article

SWTOR Flashpoints & Warzones

In The Old Republic, Flashpoints are Instances and Warzones are PvP Battlegrounds and ars technica has an article with some decent details on these features. They also have the Signs of War trailer. I haven’t tried the Warzones yet, but I have done some Flashpoints and they are pretty fun and fit well with the storyline (though they haven’t integrated class storylines but I hope they plan on doing that).
ars technica article

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Bioware Has Blizzard Scared

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On October 23, 2011

In Gaming, SWTOR, World of Warcraft

So I have been watching Blizzcon to see all the new things Blizzard is introducing with their various gaming franchises. I think the biggest news from Blizzcon this year is the concept of the World of Warcraft Annual Pass where anyone who commits to keeping WoW for a year will receive Diablo 3 for free and a guaranteed entry into the Mists of Pandaria beta.

I thought that was a pretty bold move by Blizzard and then it occurred to me, I think this is a tactic to combat the release of Star Wars. I think Blizzard is actually scared about losing players to Star Wars. So much so that they want players to commit to playing their game for a year, and if you do, they will let you play their other game for free. I know that quite a few of the Blizzard employees are Star Wars fans, they have made many comments during other Blizzcons and there is the various Star Wars references in the game (ex: an NPC named Landoo). So I know they have been following the development of SWTOR just as much as the rest of us have been following (obsessively?) it.

I don’t know if any of you watched the in-depth coverage of Mists of Pandaria but some of the Monk abilities seem to have a Star Wars influence. The Monks have a Holy Power-like resource called Dark/Light Force and the Death Knights are getting a new ability called Asphyxiate. Asphyxiate is a new silence ability where the Death Knight chokes the target while lifting them in the air … seems blatantly obvious.

Perhaps Blizzard is trying to increase the Star Wars influence in the game to keep players from going to SWTOR. I’m sure that’s just wild conjecture but its hard to deny suspicion when some of these mechanics are “lovingly” ripped off from Star Wars.

Despite their best efforts, World of Warcraft will never be Star Wars. I’m sorry Bilzzard but no matter how close a Gamorrean is to an Orc, the two will never be the same. If Star Wars fans want to play SWTOR, they will play SWTOR regardless of the fact that a Death Knight can do a Force Choke.

Cheers!

SWTOR: Don’t Think I’m a Clone Now

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On October 20, 2011

In Gaming, SWTOR

I have been following along all the reviews of SWTOR as it makes its circuit to all of the gaming and geek conventions. Knowing what I know from being in the beta it’s fun to see what speculation and theories people craft from the morsels of details they glean from short demos and time boxed test drives.

I really don’t get some of these impressions and comments that are suppose to be taken in the context of “negative reviews”. Some are claiming the story is poor. How can one make that assertion from a short test drive. I have been playing the beta since April. I have tried nearly every class and a couple classes I have played through their starting zone a couple of times. I can tell you that the story is NOT weak! Don’t believe these half wit neophytes that know nothing about the lore. The character stories for all the classes are rich and engaging. All the quests and the dialog is extremely well written. Granted there are some dull quests, but the dulls ones are the ones not linked to the story, they are just XP fodder.

Don’t believe the critics that say the story is weak, it’s simply not true!

Ok, now that I have that out of my system, let’s talk about the thing I keep seeing more and more as a negative mark against SWTOR. Some critics are calling it a WoW clone.

Now I’m not saying it is a WoW clone, but for the sake of argument let’s say they’re right … But why is that a bad thing?? WoW is six years old and still has over 10 million subscribers. If you are going to model yourself off of something, why not pick the one with the best results? I understand wanting to differentiate yourself but that may now always guarantee great success. I mean, look at all the other MMOs released recently where that approach has worked …

So here is my reason why it’s not a WoW clone. Yes, you start at 1 and level, chronologically, up to 50 by picking up a quest and completing a quest. Yes, you get talent trees and you have gathering and crafting professions. That’s about all they have in common and in my opinion (with the possible exception of talent trees) those similarities exist because they are basic MMO mechanics. By the way, the fact that you have class specific quests throughout the leveling experience differentiates this game enough from the questing mechanic in WoW.

Professions barely qualifies because the process of crafting is very different in SWTOR. The work is done while you are questing. You don’t have to stand at a forge for 15 minutes with 25 cloth bracers queued up. You put your companion to the task and you go out and quest some more. Also, I think the third type of profession, mission, is quite interesting and can be very useful for leveling and increasing your dark/light side points.

Ok, so time to end this rant. SWTOR is not a clone of WoW. It shares a few basic mechanics but it has plenty of its own “special modifications” to make it unique.

Cheers!

SWTOR: Nearly There

By

On October 16, 2011

In Biggs On, MMO Times

A few weeks ago a new build was deployed which wiped out all of our characters, but two new servers were added. There is now a PvE, PvP and a server with high level pre-mades characters.

While the pre-mades were enticing, I decided to create a Jedi Knight on the PvE server and try out tanking (NOTE: I will be going Sith when the game goes live, thus why I am playing Jedi while in the beta).

This new build is much, much better. In fact the changes in this build have put the game much closer to completion, in my opinion. All the NPCs are fully voiced, which is great because the best feature of the game is the excellent voice acting and the writing. The responses are both humorous and witty which really helps add depth and a sense of RP to the game. Most of the bugs are quest bugs and UI glitches. I have experienced very little lag and framerate issues, although there are some (people in public chat channels) that have claimed to experience heavy lag.

Oh, have I mentioned how incredible the music is? In case I haven’t, its awesome! Definitely one of my favorite parts of the game.

Based on the issues that remain, I think TOR will definitely make its December 20th launch date.

The MMO Times: Post-E3 Edition

By

On June 15, 2011

In MMO Times, MMORPG

Issue 17

Welcome back gamers to another issue of MMO Times, I hope all of you are still around and reading. Now that all the E3 excitement is over we are back to playing the waiting game for patches, release dates and beta tests. Enjoy gamers!

Dragon Nest Closed Beta Launching
Nexon’s Dragon Nest MMO launched a closed beta on June 15th. It will be a free-to-play and is slated to be released later this year. Check out the Massively and the game website article for more details about the game and signing up for the beta.
Article Link(s): Massively, Dragon Nest Website

Massively SWTOR Impressions
Ok, so one more piece of SWTOR information from E3. This article has the impressions from a few members of Massively’s gifted bloggers. I feel these guys were pretty honest and overall I think SWTOR received pretty good reviews considering its still in a closed beta.
Article Link(s): Massively

Transformers Universe
Yes, its a Transformers MMO and are you really that surprised? I’m sure World of Smurfz is just around the corner. Jagex brought this revelation to BotCon this year complete with a teaser trailer and concept art. Just enough to get all the Transformers fans hot and bothered. The website does have a sign up for the beta.
Article Link(s): Massively, Transformers Universe Website

Steam Offering F2P MMOs
I thought this was really interesting. Steam is now offering free to download and free to play MMOs such as Global Agenda, Forsaken World and Spiral Knights. They are also offering incentives in the form of free in-game items. Massively has the article.
Article Link(s): Massively

WoW-Like MMO … for iOS?
Yes iPad users, GameLoft has an MMO called Order & Chaos that is playable on iOS devices. The article link I provided is about how this MMO, which sells for $6.99 in the App Store, has made over $1 Million in less then a month. I’m very tempted to download this app for my iPad.
Article Link(s): Digital Trends

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